Broken
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay. Set during season 3 - a series of post eps, if you will! COMPLETE "He just hoped beyond hope that everything would be okay between them and ignored the quiet little voice in the back of his mind, telling him how everything was about to change."
1. Not What it Looks Like

**A/N: it's been a while but hello! Hope you are doing well! **

**So, a little bit about this one. I've been going back and forth over how to post these stories. They are essentially post-ep oneshots but for season 3! I didn't know whether to post them as stand alones or all together as one multi-chaptered story. They follow the same theme and they all link, so my decision was eventually to just post them as one multi chaptered story so 1) I don't have to think of a hundred titles (it is literally the hardest thing about writing these stories - the title!) and 2) they are all together and make some sort of sense as one long story. **

**Now I get that is me totally rambling as per usual but hope it all makes sense. As I mentioned, these stories are all set during season 3 so very different in terms of post eps but you have no idea how much I have LOVED working on these so I hope you love them too! **

* * *

_Set post 3x02 Not What It Looks Like but pre 3x03 Love Run Cold._

* * *

Shoving his feet into his shoes, not converse, he took a deep breath. This was it. A date, _finally_. They had skirted around the issue of _them_ for long enough and he couldn't be more ready for the shift in their relationship.

Last week had nearly sent him into cardiac arrest, sparking him asking her to go on a date with him. It wasn't until she'd been in danger that he realised exactly what she meant to him.

As it turned out, Lindsay Monroe meant a hell of a lot to him.

When his eyes fell on her, after she'd let off the flash bang grenade, he'd felt such a sense of relief. The way she'd said Danny had been actual music to his ears. He'd never been so glad to hear his own name in all of his life. He hadn't known what the hell was going down between him running from their bunker to the apartment but his mind had been racing, imagining the absolute very worst and he couldn't bear the thought of seeing her hurt.

Fortunately he hadn't. But it hadn't made it any easier.

When she joined the lab, his life changed. With her, things had always been different. Things with her had always been electrically charged and exciting. They'd constantly flirted around the issue of them and they'd been moving gradually towards something for the longest time. It was like neither of them wanted to officially say what they both knew.

He knew it was different with her because he'd taken the time to get to know her. He'd spent time with her, invested in her. He'd learnt what made her tick, what made her smile, cry, laugh. He'd learnt what to do when she was mad or sad. He knew about her playing tennis as a kid. He'd learnt about her issues with her dad. Danny Messer was officially an expert in all things Lindaay Monroe, and he was proud of it. He was proud to say that he knew Lindsay inside out. He was proud that he was the one she went to during the tough times, the happy times… he was her person.

And he wore that badge of honour with pride.

He shoved his leather jacket on and grabbed his keys and wallet. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he was excited about a date. And not because of where it would lead necessarily, but more who it was with.

Nothing could bring him down from this feeling and he challenged the universe to find something. He was finally getting a date with his Montana. Nothing the universe threw at him could take this moment away from him.

Nothing.

* * *

He glanced down at his watch and sighed again. He knew watching the clock wasn't helping but he was starting to worry. Lindsay was _always_ on time. He'd even go as far as to say Lindsay Monroe was always _early_. She was never late for work. She was never late to a scene.

_So where the hell was she?_

He pulled out his phone and checked his messages…_nothing_. Missed calls… _nothing_. A part of him started to worry. _Was she okay? Had something happened?_

She'd had a day off today and he knew she had planned to do some errands but nothing major. She'd even joked about getting her nails done for their date. He could tell she'd been excited when he'd told her he'd booked the table at a restaurant they'd both wanted to try for a while. He could tell she'd been excited about going out with him. He knew it in his heart she liked him.

_So where the hell was she?_

He clicked onto his messages and reread his last message to her. He'd confirmed the address upon her request and she'd said she'd see him later. They'd last spoken around one pm but there had been no clue or indicator she wasn't coming then.

_So again, where the hell was she?_

He opened a new message and began typing._ Hey Montana, hope everything's okay. Let me know if something's come up. I'll be here waiting for you. See you soon._

He wanted to add hopefully to his _see you soon _but decided against it. He sent it without thinking too much about it, hoping she'd simply got held up on the subway.

He reached for his water and took a sip. _Shit; what if something bad happened?_ He tried to fight off the bad thoughts but he couldn't help but wonder. He _knew_ her. He did. He _knew_ she wouldn't just stand him up. He _knew_ this wasn't a one sided thing. He _knew_ she liked him as much as he liked her… didn't she? He glanced down at his watch again and let out a sigh.

He couldn't shake his thoughts. Maybe the prospect of them had freaked her out? Maybe she'd changed her mind? Maybe she'd realised she wasn't all that into him after all?

_No_! He thought; _no, she isn't like that. _

He glanced down at his phone again and sighed. He'd been waiting for forty minutes now. How long did he stay for? How long was too long? He placed his phone down on the table, and just as it connected with the table cloth, he felt it vibrate.

He quickly grabbed it and felt his heart sink as he read the name.

Mac.

Not Lindsay but Mac.

He flipped open his phone and read the message. Mac was requesting him at their latest scene. He placed his phone down on the table and asked for the bill for his wine before picking his phone back up and responding to Mac, telling him he was on his way.

He settled his bill and then shoved his coat on. As he felt the chilly air hit him as he left the confines of the restaurant, he felt his heart sinking in his chest. It had been a hell of a long time since he was last stood up on a date. Especially for a date with someone he liked as much as he liked Lindsay. It rattled him that tonight had proven to him that he didn't really know her as well as he thought he had. He could sense that things were about to change between them… and he wasn't at all sure how he felt about it.

A part of him believed that she'd be able to reasonably explain why she hadn't made it and things would stay the same between them, but the other part of him wasn't too sure. It was almost like his instincts already knew the answer and it wasn't going to be an answer he wanted to hear. At all.

As he descended down into the depths of the subway, he let out a long sigh. He made a mental note not to challenge the universe in future… it had definitely found something that would take away from his moment.

He just hoped beyond hope that everything would be okay between them and ignored the quiet little voice in the back of his mind, telling him how everything was about to change.

* * *

**A/N: and there we have the first chapter! Hope it was a good first one! **

**As I say, the story runs all the way to Snow Day at the moment. I suppose it's slotting in DL moments into episodes and answering big questions I've always had about certain stuff. Hope that makes sense! **

**If you have a moment, I'd love to know your thoughts! Hope you tune in for the rest of the story! Thanks for reading! **


	2. Love Run Cold

**A/N: hey guys! thanks for the love for the first chapter! here is chapter 2! hope you enjoy it! **

* * *

_Set after the episode. 3x03, Love Run Cold.  
_

* * *

_"I can't do this, Danny."_

_"Can't do what?"_

_"I can't be in a relationship… with you:"_

_""I… I'm not: I'm just talkin' about spendin' some time together. Dinner, a few drinks... some laughs."_

_"Look, Danny I like you. A lot. But right now I can't. it's not you, okay? It's… I just… I need to be by myself so I can work some stuff out that I thought I had put behind me."_

Once again, his instincts had proved him right. In a single moment everything had changed.

The conversation he'd had with Lindsay earlier was still ringing heavily in his ears. He couldn't work out what the hell was going on. One minute they'd been fine, things had been progressing nicely. Things had been building between them for months. They'd been flirting around the topic of them since he'd stayed over at her apartment after the Sarah Butler case. They'd nearly kissed that night. Then when the bombing happened; they'd finally kissed and had spent the night together. Granted nothing had happened that night but things had been moving between them - things had been happening. They'd had breakfast dates at her place. He'd stayed over at her place, she'd stayed over at his… there hadn't been anything official but they'd been heading down the same path together. He knew this wasn't one sided. He knew it.

Then of course the Holly's case had happened; that had changed things. He'd gone crazy with her for putting herself in danger and he thought that was it. He'd thought they were finally going to commit to something more official… .

He threw his pen down onto his desk and leant back in his office chair.

Something was off. She was _totally_ different. It was like a switch had been flipped. Something was wrong. The lights in her eyes had lost their shine over the last few days. She'd plastered a smile across her face and to an outsider, everything looked fine. But he knew different. He bit his lip and let out a heavy sigh. He _knew_ her, he did. He knew when she was sick, when she was tired. He knew when she was struggling with a case. He knew her like the back of his hand.

This though? He hadn't ever seen her like this. And he didn't like it.

He looked over his shoulder to see who was around. It was late and most people had left for the day. He thought Lindsay was still around somewhere but he hadn't seen her since she'd walked away from him in the precinct.

He knew what he was about to do was wrong but he couldn't sit by and let her slip away.

He glanced over his shoulder again and pulled up the internet. He typed in her name and pressed enter. A couple of Facebook profiles came up, including hers, but nothing giving him any clues as to what could be going on.

He licked his lips, maybe he needed to be more precise?

His fingers hovered over the keyboard. This was really wrong. He was crossing a boundary. He was being unfair. She hadn't told him and he really needed to respect her privacy. He just… he couldn't sit by and let her go. He wasn't willing to let her go without a fight.

Although he'd told her he wasn't necessarily looking for a relationship; he wasn't against one either. She was all he could think about. She was worth it. She was worth the fight. And she could try to push him away all she liked but it didn't mean he had to let her push him away.

He sat back in his chair and weighed up his options. What could it be? What could she possibly need time to deal with? Her parents? Siblings? Boyfriend? He knew her mom had been sick before, but that wasn't anything she'd keep secret from him. She'd recently mended her relationship with her dad so it couldn't be that. She'd never mentioned a boyfriend before. He'd teased her a couple of times about boyfriends and she'd always joked around, not giving much away. He let out a long breath. Could it be an old boyfriend? Could she have had a bit of a bad relationship that had caught back up to her? He couldn't imagine her in such a situation but he knew that appearances meant nothing. Hard exteriors did a good job of hiding the worst pain imaginable.

He licked his lips and glanced over his shoulder again. He added Montana to the end of her name and pressed enter. He wasn't sure what it would do but he figured it might be worth a shot.

Her facebook profile popped up again and he scrolled past the top entries. Almost losing faith in the search, he sighed until the word Bozeman caught his eye. She was from Bozeman. He edged closer to the screen and scanned the tag line. Quadruple homicide. It was an old archived article dating back to 1989.

He did the math and worked out Lindsay would have been about fifteen or sixteen at the time. He licked his lips and clicked the article. His eyes scanned the article, desperate for something to tell him what had happened.

That's when he saw it.

The picture. _That picture_. Looking at the caption underneath, he felt his heart rate increase. _Pictured: three of the confirmed victims; Lucy (16), Caroline (15) and Kelly (15) with friend and survivor, Lindsay (16)_. His heart stopped as he clicked on the picture to enlarge it and narrowed his eyes. He'd seen that picture before. He'd seen that _same_ picture in her apartment. He'd asked her if it was a picture of her and her sisters and she'd replied that it was her and her friends but had been really cryptic. He'd remembered thinking it was off, a little odd, but he hadn't questioned it at the time.

He narrowed his eyes as he thought back to that moment. There were other pictures of Lindsay around that age in her apartment with her friends… but nothing after. No pictures with them as they grew older. As he thought about it more, he realised she didn't speak about her friends. She didn't have stories about them. She didn't ever talk about seeing them or speaking to them. Danny ran a hand down his face sighed heavily. This was why.

He clicked off the picture and his eyes scanned the article. His brain was spinning. A quadruple homicide. One survivor. A shooting. Suspected robbery. Two fifteen year olds, a sixteen year old and a seventeen year old that worked there.

He felt sick. This was it - it had to be. The article was very vague but it told him enough. He was able to read between the lines to work out what was going on with her. It told him everything he needed to know.

Lindsay Monroe was the single survivor of a quadruple homicife.

It all made sense. The hesitation at crime scenes with lots of blood. The struggle she went through when their victim was a young girl. The fear she had when dealing with mothers. The determination during every case as she worked for justice and retribution. He cast his mind back to the James Vackner case. She'd taken it to heart and he'd never seen her like it… now he understood why. It all made sense.

"Oh Linds." He whispered, leaning back in his seat. He clicked off the article and pushed his chair back from his desk. He wasn't entirely sure what to do but he was letting his instincts lead the way.

* * *

She sniffed as looked down to the letter gripped in her hand. It had been the week she'd prayed for and the week she'd been dreading all rolled into one. When she'd seen the postmark from the district attorney's office back in Bozeman, she knew what was waiting for her inside the letter.

They'd found him.

She desperately didn't want to picture his face. She couldn't bear to see his face. She just couldn't help it. It was burned into her retinas and no matter how many tears she'd cried, it was still just as strong as it was back then.

She'd tried everything. Flicking through pictures of people she loved on her computer… didn't help. Picturing her friends faces...didn't help. She'd tried to remind herself what their laughs had sounded like, what Lucy's laugh sounded like… even that hadn't helped. She'd even tried to think of Danny and that hadn't helped either.

Feeling a fresh bout of tears hit her, she laid her head against her locker and let the tears fall. It was futile trying to stop them. Her emotions were all over the place. She knew she should be relieved, happy that finally this monster would be brought to justice… except, it wasn't quite as easy as that. Old memories and feelings were being dragged up to the surface whether she wanted them to or not.

There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't think of her friends… but the last few days they were _all_ she could think about. Them, and the fact that she knew she'd have to testify. She'd testified in hundreds of cases before but nothing had ever come close to this. Nothing. Nothing had ever been so personal before.

She laid her head against her knees and felt her tears slip down her cheeks and over the edge of her nose, landing on her slacks. She knew she was lucky to have been able to hide away undisturbed for so long… she had just needed the time to release everything.

She'd managed to keep everything under wraps until Danny had pulled her to one side in the precinct. He'd been her undoing. She hated herself for what she'd said to him; the lame excuses she'd offered. She knew he could see right through them but she hadn't been quick enough to think of an elaborate lie.

A part of her desperately wanted to tell him the truth, to let him in… but the other? The other part of her slammed down the shutters and dead bolted the door. This was her fight to fight and she didn't want to involve anything or anyone. She'd come to New York for a fresh start. She didn't want to be the girl they pitied. She didn't want to let them in on her secrets. They didn't need to know and she wasn't about to tell them. She liked the fact they thought she was sparkly, shiny and strong. They didn't need to know just how broken she really was.

Even if it meant she had to sit, hiding in the locker room, sobbing her heart out all by herself:

Just as another batch of tears threatened to hit, she heard the door open. She held her breath, not knowing what to do. She couldn't hide what was going on… she'd been crying for a considerable amount of time and knew her eyes would be incredibly bloodshot. She also didn't know how she'd explain being sat on the floor in the middle of her shift:

As she heard the footsteps she shoved the letter into her blazer pocket as quickly as she could. She then wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her forehead against her knees, hiding her face. She held her breath and waited. She could hear the footsteps get closer and then they stopped. She bit her lip, desperate to make sure no whimpers escaped her lips.

There was silence for a moment and whilst she could sense someone nearby, she hoped it was her mind playing tricks on her. Hopefully they'd bypassed her and gone to the restrooms.

Before she had chance to convince herself though; she felt two hands cup her face. She could feel the warm hands gently raise her head from where she had hidden it. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt two thumbs wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She kept her eyes shut and continued to bite her lip; determined to calm herself down. It didn't help that she knew who it was holding her face. It didn't help that she knew who had just wiped her tears away.

She didn't need to look to know it was.

With her eyes still shut, she felt the two hands pull her up from her position. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she felt the two arms wrap themselves around her tightly. It took her a moment before she wrapped her arms around the slender waist. She laid her head against the strong chest and inhaled deeply.

Danny.

She felt his arms tighten around her and she realised the only other time she'd ever been held this tight was when her mom and dad had finally made it to the hospital on the night of the shooting. She'd been sat on a bed after being assessed when her dad had come barrelling through the door of her private room. She'd burst into tears at the sight of him and he'd thrown himself across the room and had scooped her up, cradling her like a baby. His embrace was so tight that it had, for a single moment, made her feel like things weren't as bad as they were.

Just like now.

"Lindsay… what the hell is going on?" His voice was soft and full of concern. "Talk to me kiddo."

"I-" her voice failed her and she tried to clear her throat. After a couple more attempts, she finally managed to get some of her words out. "I want to let you in, I just… I can't do it."

"It's okay:" he whispered against her temple. "You don't need to tell me anything if you really don't want to. I'm here though. I'm here to wipe tears; hold your hand… whatever you need."

"I need to be by myself."

"I don't think that's necessarily true. I don't think you need a relationship right now but I do think you need a friend, someone to lean on."

"I… I..:" she could feel the tears coming back.

"Listen, come here." He sighed, pulling her to the bench in the middle of the locker room. He helped her sit and quickly darted into the restroom to grab some tissue for her tears. He reappeared and knelt in front of her, wiping her face carefully. He then handed her the tissue and took a seat next to her.

As he settled next to her, he edged closer to her and after a moment of their arms touching, he felt her head settle on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her tightly. "Alright Linds, let it all out."

He listened to her guttural sobs and felt absolutely helpless. He hated it. He hated sitting next to her being unable to help in any way, other than holding her close.

He desperately wanted to tell her that he knew but he couldn't. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, fix everything and pick up all of her broken pieces. He wanted to make her feel better.

But he knew he couldn't.

Watching her tears slip down her cheeks broke his heart. He wished he could take her pain away. He wished he could tell her he knew… that he'd looked it all up and knew exactly what demons she wa fighting but then… he didn't want to hurt her.

He was in a catch twenty two position. Whatever he did, it meant that Lindsay would slip through his fingertips. "I got your back." He said softly. "You know that, don't you? You know I'm here for you, right?"

She nodded."I know."

"I can't begin to imagine what you're goin' through Linds because I know how strong you are so for you to be this upset I know it's gotta be bad, but whatever it is; you'll get through this."

"I'm not sure." She whispered, her voice croaky.

"You will." he told her.

He felt her arm move and he was surprised when she took his hand in hers. She squeezed it tight and shuffled closer to him. He pressed a kiss to her temple and squeezed her hand back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be." He replied. "Come on, dry those pretty eyes." He said as he handed her a tissue he'd been holding. "I think the lab is dead anyway. Why don't you go home?"

"I'm technically still on the clock." She said, glancing down to her watch. "I should probably get back to work."

"Nah," Danny shook his head. "Go home. I'll tell Mac you need to deal with some personal stuff or somethin'."

"Thanks but I'd hate for him to think-"

"Montana… go." He said softly. "Go home."

She looked at him for a moment and then sighed. "Do you honestly think he wouldn't mind?"

"You've got twenty minutes left." Danny said. "Chances are he won't even see you in those twenty minutes anyway. Plus; the amount of overtime you put in, he probably owes you about a month off." Danny teased. "Go on, go home."

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Anytime kiddo."

She went to stand and moved to her locker. He stayed sitting on the bench, watching her. She collected her things before shutting her locker. She turned to face him. "Danny… about before. I just want you to know how much I like you. I do… I just… I guess I need some time."

"Like I told you, let me know if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded and slid her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. She slung her back over her shoulder and sighed heavily. "Thanks Danny. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, Montana."

She quickly disappeared from the locker room and he leant forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he hunched over. He let out a long, laboured breath as the pain and anguish she was in dawned on him. He'd known she had been struggling earlier in the day, but the reality of seeing it for himself hit him hard and the weight of it settled in the pit of his stomach.

He knew he had a fight on. She was the most stubborn person he knew. He knew she would refuse his help, however, she was worth it all. The sparkle in her eyes had dulled but it wasn't totally gone. He just hoped and prayed that he didn't have to watch it totally disappear. He could see that she was a little bit broken and he just hoped that she would let him put her pieces back together again.


	3. Oedipus Hex

**A/N: hardly festive, I know, however... who doesn't love season 3?! **

**A massive thank you for the kind words you left in your reviews for the last chapter: genuinely they always, always, always make me smile so much! So thank you for taking the time to let me know what you thought! It's much appreciated. **

**Anyway, on with the show! **

**—-**

_Set after 3x05, Oedipus Hex _

—

His face still stung.

It had been a long time since he was last slapped across the face. Granted, he still wasn't entirely sure if it had been deserved but he understood. It hadn't necessarily been personal. It had been an outburst of pain and anger at the situation, not him. The poor girl's mother, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

_Even if his face did still sting. _

He hated those moments. He hated being the one to tell someone their little girl wasn't coming home ever again. He hated being the messenger. He hated watching a family crumble to pieces in front of him.

Usually, he'd do anything to get out of it. He would. It was one of his many downfalls and he knew it. But for Lindsay? He'd do anything. He'd even get slapped in the face by a grieving mother just so she didn't have to deliver that news.

But then again; he'd do _anything_ for Lindsay.

As he made his way through the lab, his head was down, hoping and praying the last thirty minutes of his shift would pass by without anymore slaps to the face.

He pushed he way into his office and glanced up, surprised to see Lindsay sat at her desk. She turned to face him and offered him a smile.

"I thought you'd gone." He said as he settled at his own desk.

"No, I had some loose ends I wanted to tie up." She said, fiddling with a pen in her hands. "Plus after talking to Omen's mom I felt like I needed to decompress before I went home."

He nodded.

"I also feel like I owe you an apology."

"Me?" Danny asked, glancing at her over his computer screen. "You don't owe me anything, Montana."

"I do." She said softly. She placed the pen she had been fiddling with down and looked at him. "I was really unfair to you earlier. I shouldn't have said the things I did. You don't always make me give the bad news and I know that. I just… I have some… things I'm working through and it was a bit of a challenge to face one of my issues head on."

"Listen, you and me are partners. We have each other's back. I'll always help you Linds, you know that."

"I know." She nodded. "But you don't deserve my attitude. It's part of the job and I should have known better. You don't deserve it."

"Hey, no one ever wants to give a family member bad news. It wasn't attitude, Lindsay and anyway, why should you have to do it? I'm just as capable."

"You're not listening to me." She sighed. "I'm trying to tell you that I'm sorry."

"And I'm telling you that you don't need to be, kiddo."

She frowned at him.

"Don't look at me like that." He teased her. "Listen, it's done, over. You and me? We're good, okay? I got your back no matter what, Montana. I'll support you however and wherever I can."

"You're too good to me." She said, turning away from him. She began shuffling pages on her desk.

He sighed and moved over towards her. He leant against her desk and moved her chair so that she had to face him. "Look at me."

Despite him moving her chair, she avoided eye contact with him. He hooked his finger underneath her chin and moved her head so she was looking up at him. "Lindsay Monroe, I need you to listen to me."

She blinked before letting her eyes settle on him. "I'm listening."

"I get you are going through stuff right now. I get that things are hard for you right now: I get that you're trying to keep it together. I know you're putting a brave face on but Linds, it's me. You don't gotta do that. We're more than that. You don't gotta be brave with me."

"I do." Her voice was quiet. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, I don't wanna make you cry. That's not what I'm doing here. I just want you to know that it's ok." He said. "I want you to know I'm here for you. I want you to know I'll support you, take the burden when things are hard for you."

"But why?" She whispered.

"Why what?" He said, swiping at a tear that had slipped down her cheek.

"Why do you care about me so much?"

"Because it's you." He said simply.

"Why though? I stood you up, I keep pushing you away. I'm not worth it."

"See, that's where you're so wrong." He shook his head. "You've got to understand that I care about you. Everyone here does. I know you don't wanna get into what's going on, I understand, okay? But you've gotta accept the fact that you and I are a team and I'll do whatever I can to support you."

She offered a weak smile at him. "I'm really lucky to have you."

"You are." He smirked. "But I'm lucky to have you as well."

She rolled her eyes playfully, despite the unshed tears that were still glistening in her eyes.

"I miss this." He said quietly. "I miss us goofing around."

She smiled sadly at him. "I wish I could give you more."

"I don't want more." He said. "I don't expect you to give me anything Linds, I just want normal. I want us… I know it's not the right time and that's ok… I just, we're good together, you know?"

"I know." She nodded.

They fell into silence and she busied herself with the items on her desk. He moved away from her desk and sat at his own. He took the time to absorb her. How he wished he could tell her that he knew what was going on. He wished she didn't feel like she had to hide it from him. He wished she didn't feel like she had to suffer on her own… but for some unknown reason she was insistent she did it all by herself and as much as he hated it, he was reluctantly respecting it.

"Here," her voice broke his thoughts . He glanced up at her as she waved a picture frame in his face. "It'll last longer."

He took hold of the frame and smiled as he looked at the picture. It was a picture of the two of them during her first Christmas in New York. Mac had persuaded them to volunteer at a soup kitchen and they were wearing goofy Santa hats. She was tucked tightly into Danny's side and they were both sporting the biggest, happiest grin.

"Was I staring?" He finally asked.

"A little bit." She smirked as she took the frame off him and took a moment to absorb the image herself. He watched the smile tug at her lips as she moved back to her desk.

"There she is… The Montana I know."

"She's still here…" Lindsay assured him. "I promise." She turned her computer screen off. "Aren't you off the clock?"

He glanced down at his watch and nodded. "Just about."

"Me too."

He nodded and sensed there was something more to what she was saying.

"Listen…" she began before he could say anything more. "I don't want to send mixed messages to you but… do you want to go get some coffee or something?"

"Sure." He nodded.

"My way of saying thanks for today." She said. "For taking that slap."

"It's still stinging." He told her

"i'll bet it is!" She implored. "What do you say? Coffee between two friends and partners?"

"If you throw a piece of pie in there too then I'm game."

"I can maybe stretch to some pie." She smiled. He jumped out of his chair and grabbed his jacket. It couldn't have been seconds but when he looked towards her again, he realised her smile had gone.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." She nodded, avoiding his eyes. She started to grab her own jacket and slung it over her arm.

He could feel a sinking feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. Something in her eyes told him that they weren't going for coffee. "Linds… everything okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, still avoiding his eyes at all costs, "I uh… listen; I just remembered, I can't go for coffee."

"But you just suggested we go for coffee?" He asked, confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Honestly… I just. I can't do today. I shouldn't have suggested it, I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe tomorrow?"

He tried hard to keep the big sigh, begging to be released, within him. He couldn't help it though, and as soon as he let it out, he regretted it. Her face fell and he could tell it hadn't made their current situation any better.

"I'm really sorry, Danny." She whispered. "I didn't mean to get your hopes up. I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, no." He placed his hand on her arm. "Listen to me, you didn't do anything wrong. You have made it clear you're not in that place and believe me when I say I respect that. I just… you know how I feel about you, I got a little excited about us spending time together again. I just want you to be okay. If you can't go for coffee, that is totally fine."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled. He took his jacket off and slung it over the back of his chair. "We can go another time, it's no big deal:"

"Sure." She nodded, watching him as his jacket landed on his chair. "Aren't you going?" She asked.

"I just remembered about some paperwork Mac wanted, I better get it done. I'll see you tomorrow, Montana."

"Sure." She sighed heavily and nodded. "See you tomorrow."

She left quickly and he sat down at his desk. He turned on his computer, conscious of the fact that every five steps she was turning around to check on him as she headed towards the elevators. Once she'd disappeared onto the elevator and the door had shut, he took his glasses off and ran his hand down his face.

He was angry with himself. He'd pushed her too far. She'd allowed herself to get wrapped up in his banter and he'd swept her up with it all. For a moment it was like everything had gone back to normal… until realisation had obviously hit her, which was when she'd shut down.

He let out a long sigh and glanced down to the picture of the two of them on his own desk. It wasn't long after the bombing. She still had the cut on her forehead. He wasn't entirely sure why or who the picture was taken by, but he liked it... a lot. It was of the two of them and they were looking at each other. He had a smirk all over his face and she had her eyes closed, laughing at whatever dumbass thing he'd said. The smile on her face was so natural. So happy.

_God he missed that smile. _

But, he had to remind himself that this was what she needed. She needed his patience, space, time. And he was more than happy to give it to her. Even if he did really miss that smile.

—-

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Christmas

**A/N: so this year has been the first in a long, long time where I have been writing. In the past and back in the day I've always _always_ loved doing Christmassy stories and didn't have anything to post which made me a little sad... however, apparently Fred was not having any of that and decided that inspiration was going to come in the form of... well, apparently season 3 DL. **

**I'm pretty sure the timeline of this is out of whack and I don't really know where this will fit necessarily however, it's post Oedipus Hex but pre Sweet 16, so take your pick between Consequences, Murder Sings the Blues and all those other episodes! **

**Happy holidays! If you celebrate, I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas! **

**Hope you enjoy this one! **

**—-**

Flicking the bobble on his hat from one side to another, he grinned as he bounded into the AV lab. He cleared his throat and flashed a smile at the only other person in the room. He watched her look at him and he couldn't help the smile on his face as she rolled her eyes.

"You look ridiculous." Her voice told him before she turned back to her task.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Montana."

She smiled, not tearing her eyes away from her piece of evidence. "What's up Santa Claus?"

"Nothing much." He said as he perched on a stool next to her. "Just doing my rounds. How's your day been?"

"Alright." She said as she took the Santa hat from his head and placed it on her own. She affixed it over her curls before turning her eyes back down to the CCTV footage she was looking at.

"Just alright?" He pressed. "What's the matter with you? You and I have the biggest privledge of working on Christmas Day… what could be better?!"

"Being wrapped in a blanket in my apartment watching every Christmas movie known to man while eating all sorts of crap with a nice glass of wine?"

"Well when you put it like that." He shrugged his shoulders as he shuffled closer to her. "What we looking at?"

"CCTV footage. A shooting at a bar last night." She sighed heavily. "Four victims, bartender and three patrons. They were pretty young… and on Christmas Eve too. Certainly won't be how they expected the holidays to turn out. I can't even begin to imagine how their families must feel today."

Danny nodded, absorbing her words until they settled in the pit of his stomach. _Shooting. Four victims. Can't imagine how their families feel._ Her last comment stung because he knew that she _did_ know… she knew _exactly_ how it felt. "Can I do anything to help?"

She shook her head. "No I got it. Just trying to catch a still of the perp leaving. Proving to be trickier than I thought though."

"Let me take a look?" He asked her.

He watched her consider his offer for a moment. "Sure, a fresh pair of eyes would be great." She pushed back from the desk to give him some space in front of the screen. He played with the footage for a couple of minutes before realising just how tricky it was. At his sigh, she smirked at him and wiggled her eyebrows. "Told ya."

He glanced at her and smiled. "Smartass."

They fell into silence as he worked on the footage. She took the opportunity to watch him and as she did, she felt a sense of calm wash over her.

Truth to be told, before he'd come in, she was beginning to work herself up. She'd been desperate to try and get a still of the perp and the harder she worked at it, the more elusive a capture of his face was. It didn't help that it was Christmas and her heart just didn't want to be at work.

She'd drawn the short straw back in October when they were discussing the holiday period and had been surprised when Danny had turned up a couple of hours ago sporting a incredibly festive and slightly ridiculous Santa hat. She'd known she'd been working with Sheldon today… however when she'd questioned Danny about it, he'd shrugged and said there had been a change of plans.

And while she knew there was something fishy about him being at work; she was desperately glad he was here. There was something about him that calmed her, centred her.

"You look cute in that Santa hat, you know."

… and he also drove her crazy.

"And there was me thinking about how glad I am that you're here today." She mused. "The little voice inside my head spoke too soon, didn't it?"

"Oh yeah, you're glad I'm here, huh?" He beamed. "Why's that then? Is it my handsome good looks, brilliant mind, or-"

"Or your humble nature?" She teased.

"It's hard." He smirked. "But naturally I hate to show off and boast. It's just not in my nature. Not fair on the others, you see." He whispered.

"Absolutely shameless, aren't you?" She shook her head, making the bobble on the end of her hat move from side to side, bopping her on the cheek.

Ignoring her comment, he continued clicking the mouse as he moved the stills of the CCTV footage."So what would you be doing if you were at home?"

"Who? Me?" Lindsay asked.

Danny laughed as he looked around their surroundings. "Of course you… you goof!"

She rolled her eyes before moving forwards on her desk chair. She rested her elbows on the desk and popped her head in her upturned hands. "My mom would be making a huge meal and I'd be sat at the kitchen table talking to her. It's her idea of me helping. Too much of a control freak."

"Like someone else I know." He smirked.

"Hey! I'm letting you help now!"

"Touché." He smirked. "So is Christmas a big thing in your house?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's always been a very quiet and lowkey holiday. Nothing too extravagant. Mostly just about spending time as a family. Being grateful for what we've got."

Danny nodded. "Sounds nice."

"It is." She said dreamily. "What about yours?"

"Mine? Basically the complete opposite to yours." He smirked as he paused the footage as he took a good look at it. "It's usually pretty crazy… loud.. obnoxious."

She smiled as she turned to look at him. "So why aren't you there?"

"I owed Hawkes a favour. He wanted to trade shifts."

"I call bullshit."

Danny blinked as he turned to face her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She smirked. "I know for a fact that's a load of crap."

"Oh yeah?" he smirked. "What makes you say that?"

"Because when I called him earlier to see where he was, Hawkes told me he owed you big time. He also told me you'd lost your mind, asking to switch shifts on Christmas Day. So… I call bullshit."

He winked at her as he scooted his chair back. "Voila."

"Voila? What do you mean voila?"

"Voila." He said, gesturing to the screen. "I give you a still of your perp."

She moved her chair forwards and took a good look at the screen before turning back to Danny. "Amazing! Perfect! Oh my gosh, Danny.. I owe you!"

"I have my uses." He smiled as he printed off the image and handed it to her. "See you later, huh?"

She nodded, grabbing the picture from him and taking a good look. "Yeah… I'll uh, I'll see you later."

She jumped up off her seat and grabbed her cellphone from the desk as she raced off to find Flack. She paused in the hallway and popped her head back into the lab. "Hey Danny." She said, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" He looked up at her.

"Thanks."

He smiled. "Anytime, Montana."

—-

It had been a couple of hours since he last saw her but the smile she'd shot him as she had left the lab made him feel like swapping shifts with Hawkes and missing Christmas with his family had been worth it.

He was currently sat in the break room, nursing a cup of coffee, happy that today hadn't been as busy as previous years. Usually holidays sent people in the city crazy but evidently not today - which he was nothing but thankful for.

He glanced up and straightened up as his eyes fell on her in the doorway. He wasn't sure how long she'd been there but he was willing to bet she'd been watching him. She had a big paper bag clutched in her hands… and she was still sporting his Santa hat from earlier.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hey yourself." She said as she made her way into the break room. "How's your day been?" She said, echoing his same words from earlier.

"Slow." He mused. "And for a change I'm not mad about it. Did you get your guy?"

She nodded. "Thanks to you. Flack's got him down at booking now. Full confession."

"Awesome… good job kiddo."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"What's in the bag?" He asked.

"Dinner." She said. "For two."

He nodded. "Oh." _For two?_ He could only hope he was included in that head count.

"I know it's not exactly your normal Christmas Day, nor is it mine… so I thought maybe we could have a different kind of dinner."

"A Danny and Lindsay kinda dinner?" He mused. "What bugs you got in there today?"

"Funny but if i remember rightly it was you who brought that dinner." She smirked as she made her way towards him. She tossed him another Santa hat before settling on the barstool next to him. "No I thought we could go for something slightly more traditional."

She unloaded the bag and began laying out plated food on the table.

"Where the hell have you got this from?" He implored as he shoved the hat on his head.

"Stella." She explained. "When I got back from the precinct she was on her way up with it for us. She said it's still warm so to eat it now."

Danny smiled as he stood and grabbed them each a knife and fork from the cutlery drawer. He handed her a set and then settled next to her began eating in a comfortable silence. Her mind on her family; his mind on his own family. It wasn't exactly perfect; but being with her made it perfect enough.

"This is nice." She smiled at him.

"It is." He nodded in agreement, his mouth full of food. It was nice. It was _really_ nice. If he was totally honest, it was exactly what he'd hoped for when he'd envisioned today.

"I'm glad you decided, for whatever reason, to trade shifts. I was dreading today if I'm totally honest but… I've had a really lovely day… thanks to you."

"Me?" He mused. "I haven't done anything. We've barely seen each other."

She shook her head softly. "You've done more than you know." She put her knife and fork down and laid her hand on his. "I know I've been distant recently but…"

"It's okay." He said, placing his other hand on top of hers. "Trust me Linds, I get it."

"I just... today has been really special. I want you to know that."

"Linds, you're wrong - I've literally done nothing."

"No, that's where _you're_ wrong." She told him. "You got me the break in my case I needed. You gave me the chance to bring a killer to justice and I got to tell four sets of moms and dads that i'd found their child's killer. You have no idea how much peace that is going to bring them in this time of pain... And I did it because you helped me. You gave me that."

"I don't know, Linds." He said, shrugging off her praise. "I think you're giving me far too much credit here. You did all the hard work."

She shook her head, smiling softly.

"Well let's agree to disagree." He said. "What I will say, is that I've really enjoyed seeing that smile on your face again." He said, cupping her cheek, taking the opportunity to stroke her cheek with his thumb.

She leant into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment. He put his other hand on her other cheek, so he was effectively cupping her face with his hands. She opened her eyes and looked at him, letting out a slow breath. "Seeing you smile has been the best thing about my day." He told her, letting go of the gentle hold he had on her. "The perfect Christmas present."

Before he realised what was happening, she leant forward and kissed him on his cheek. Her lips lingered on his cheek for a moment before she pulled away. He desperately wanted to capture her lips in a kiss but he knew it'd only make their situation more complicated.

… well more complicated than it already was.

"I just need some more time." She whispered. It was almost as if she'd been able to read his mind..

"And you know my stance." He reassured her. "I ain't giving up on you."

She laid her head on his shoulder and let out a long sigh. "I miss us."

"I miss us too." He said. "But hey, look at us… things aren't so bad."

"I suppose." She sighed.

"Look at the bright side, Montana, we've managed to eat an entire dinner at work without you gettin' mad at me. It's a Christmas miracle." He nudged her playfully.

"You were doing so well." She scowled playfully as she moved away from him.

They continued eating their respective dinners and as they finished up, she collected their plates and loaded them into the dishwasher.

He stood and moved towards her and held his arms out. She grabbed the dishcloth and wiped her hands before moving towards him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight and he did the same in response. He buried his head in her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

After a couple more moments of soaking her up, he reluctantly let go of her and offered her a smile. He held his arm out, gesturing for her to lead the way out of the break room.

As they moved down the hallway together she nudged him. "Hey," she said softly, gaining his attention.

"Yeah?"

"It's your turn to get dinner next time." She said. "And lay off the bugs, okay?"

"I'll see what I can do." He grinned.

He knew things were still shaky for them. Sure today had been good, but tomorrow wasn't guaranteed to be the same between them. It was up and down with her and he understood why. He knew where he stood with her. Sure, they were far from what they once were. They weren't perfect, but that was perfectly okay… they were still them and that was something Danny was more than happy to hold onto with both hands.

"What now?" He asked.

"I got paperwork I need to start." She sighed. "You?"

"Ballistics." He said. "You know where to find me if you want a distraction."

"I do." She nodded. He turned on his heel and began walking away from her. Before he disappeared from view he heard her voice again: "hey!"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas, Danny."

He didn't even bother to fight the smile stretching across his face. "Merry Christmas, Linds."

—-

**A/N. and there we have it - another installment. hope you enjoyed it! Your thiughts are always appreciated and very much loved! **

**thanks for reading! **


	5. Sweet 16

**Hey guys! Back to this one again! I know a lot of them follow a similar theme, I think when I was writing them I got a little bit carried away! You know me, I love the fluffy angst… is that even a thing? Who knows! i promise things will start developing soon! **

**Anyway... enough of my rambles as always- hope you enjoy!**

—-

_Set during and after the episode, 3x10 Sweet 16_

—-

He glanced up again for what seemed like the millionth time. He was completely distracted but he couldn't help it.

Things with Lindsay hadn't been great recently. In fact: things were awful. They'd barely spoken and she had totally distanced herself from him since Christmas. He thought they'd made some baby steps after their shift that day and for a moment, he thought things were better. Back to normal. But how wrong he'd been. She'd gotten distant again. Quiet. He knew it wasn't her fault and he didn't blame her but god he missed her.

And as if things weren't already bad enough… now she'd been bitten by a damn snake.

Mac had told him whilst they were chasing up the Seeley case and he couldn't believe his stupid luck. Lindsay was being treated for a snake bite whilst he was chasing pigeons around the city.

Literally.

He glanced up as he heard the elevator ping and couldn't believe his eyes as she breezed off the elevator. His heart leapt in his chest as he realised it was her. He watched her quietly slip down the hallway into the locker room and he waited a couple of minutes before grabbing his file. He locked the computer he'd been working on and darted out into the hallway. He knew if he timed it right, she'd have no choice but to speak to him. Moments later, the door went and she emerged. He offered her a quick smile. "Hey!" _Perfect, _he thought.

"Hi Danny." Her voice was steady and professional. And he hated it.

"How are you?" He asked, his voice full of concern as he glanced down at her bandage. "Should you even be here?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She offered him a smile. A fake smile.

He narrowed his eyes as he glanced around them. He took her non-bandaged hand and dragged her into their office. He could hear her sighing and huffing but chose to ignore her.

"How are you really?" He asked. Whilst he was wary of people being able to see their exchange, he took comfort in the fact they'd struggle to hear it.

"Danny, I'm honestly fine."

He raised his eyebrows at her, challenging her. "You're the first ever person I know to be fine after being bitten by a snake."

"I grew up in Montana." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me when I say I've endured worst things than a snake bite. Also, how many people do you know that's been bitten by a snake?" There was a tiny smirk tugging at her lips and whilst usually; he'd be overjoyed to see her playful side again... he was having none of it today.

"Will you shut up for a minute?" He implored as he took her bandaged hand. He stared at it for a moment before looking at her. "Doesn't look fine." He commented.

She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from him. "You would say that."

"Hey… I'm worried about you. Linds, what's going on? We've barely spoken in weeks. Ever since Christmas I feel like you've been avoiding me:"

"It's been busy, you know that Danny, you're just as busy as I am."

"We've always been busy Montana but not like this."

"Look, there's nothing to worry about. I'm okay. I told you I'd let you know if I needed anything. I don't need anything… so it's all fine."

"Well, that aside... I'm worried about this." He said as he took her hand again.

"You don't need to be." She informed him. "I'm not worried about it. In fact, I got to fly in a helicopter for the first time ever, something to cross off the bucket list."

"I ain't making jokes, Montana."

"I know, that's why I am."

"Well don't." He snapped. "Do you have any idea how awful it was hearin' you'd gotten hurt? And bitten by a snake no less? Linds you have no idea how worried I've been."

"Well imagine actually getting bitten by the snake!" She implored. "But sure let's turn this into how it affects Danny." She scowled at him. "Go on then, tell me, how did it affect you? How did it make you feel? How did it worry you? Concern you? Tell me about all the sleep you lost last night thinking about it."

"There's no need to be like that." He said, hurt clearly eveident in his voice.

"Oh yeah?" She mused. "I've told you I'm fine, Danny, and I'd appreciate it if you actually listened to me for once as opposed to completely ignoring _everything_ I say just because it isn't quite what you want to hear."

Although she hadn't touched him, he felt like she'd slapped him square in the face.

He told himself she didn't mean it. He knew deep down she didn't mean it. He licked his lips and let out a long breath. _Maybe she was a little bit right though…_

"I'm sorry you feel that way." He began, before he could say anything else, he stopped himself. Something sarcastic wasn't going to help the situation. Nor was him telling her again how worried he was; he knew he had to respect what she was saying. "I'm glad you're alright." He finished.

He could see in her eyes that she was regretting snapping at him, but instead of saying anything further, he smiled at her before turning his attention to his desk as he organised the files stacked on it.

She took it as her cue to leave and she quickly disappeared down the hallway. As she disappeared from view, he slumped in his chair and let out a hearty sigh.

—-

His neck ached. His back ached… everything ached.

He'd been sat for far too long in the same position. This case was driving him crazy. And it hadn't helped that a certain brown hair, brown eyed beauty had been on his mind constantly since she'd stormed out of their office.

It had been a couple of hours since he'd last seen her and a part of him was dreading seeing her again based on how they'd left it between them. She'd left silently and he had assumed it wasn't a good thing.

He just didn't know what to do anymore. He didn't want to distance himself but he was starting to wonder if that was his only option now. He thought he was helping her by pushing back against her but he was beginning to wonder if he was doing more harm than good.

As he straightened up, his eyes fell on the figure stood in the doorway. He met her eyes and took comfort in the apologetic look etched onto her face. _Maybe things weren't as bad as he'd thought?_

"Hey." She said softly as she moved into the office she shared with him.

"Hey… What's that?" He asked as she set a paper bag onto his desk.

"A peace offering." She said as she sat down on her own chair. "I was really unfair to you earlier. You don't deserve it."

"Eh, I don't know." He said, sitting back in his chair. "I can't say you weren't totally wrong."

"No, I was." She assured him. "It was wrong of me to snap at you like I did. I mean Jesus, all you were doing was showing me concern and kindness. Hardly warrants me tearing your head off your neck, does it?"

He arched his eyebrows at her analogy. "Oh, is that what it was… no wonder my neck is so sore." He teased as he rubbed at his neck.

"A bit dramatic?" She laughed.

"A bit?" He smirked. "If we come across any victims in the next couple of weeks with their heads torn off I shall be heading in your direction." He teased her.. "I hope you know that."

She giggled before sobering and sighing. "Danny, I'm sorry about earlier." She said.

"Don't be." He smiled. "I just wanted to check you were okay."

She edged the bag closer to him.

"Is it poison?" He asked with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I think you'll like it."

He smiled, grabbed hold of the bag and looked inside. "Oooh Montana!" He reached in and grabbed one of the jelly doughnuts. "Food? And doughnuts no less! I thought I was bringing food next?" He joked, reminding her of what she'd said a couple of weeks ago when they'd had to work Christmas together. "Maybe I should piss you off more often." He placed the sugary treat by his lips before pausing, "Unless it's laced with that poison I was talking about?!"

"Don't get smart." She warned him with a smile. "It's just a little peace offering. I wanted to say sorry and I know the best way to do that is through your stomach."

"You didn't need to do that." He told her, his mouth full, "but thanks Montana, I appreciate it."

"The doughnuts or the apology?"

"Both." He smiled. He set the remaining bit of the doughnut on his desk and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it tightly as she stood from her chair and moved to sit on the edge of his desk.. "I know I need to respect your need for space a little better." He began. "You've been explictly clear about how you need your space and I've been choosing to ignore that and that's not fair of me to put you in that position. I just… I care about you Linds. I hate seeing you like this. And I know it pissed you off, but I was genuinely worried about you."

"I know." She said softly. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk about it."

"Please stop saying sorry." He told her. "I'll start working harder at giving you the space you need, okay? I just want to help. Plus I miss seeing your smile."

Right on cue, a small smile tugged at her lips. "Are we good?"

"We're always good." He smiled as he picked up the rest of the doughnut and shoved it in his mouth. He grabbed the bag and offered it towards her. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing one and settling in the chair next to him.

"You know, I was thinking about that bug dinner a couple of weeks ago… you know after we were talking about it on Christmas Day. I can't believe we ate all that crap." He grimaced. "What the hell was I thinkin?"

"What the hell were you thinking?! What the hell was I thinking?!" She laughed, holding a hand over her mouth as she chewed her jelly doughnut, "I don't think I've ever tasted anything more disgusting than those mealworms. And the crunch of that spider? Ugh." She shuddered. "It makes my skin crawl every time I think about it."

"And there was me thinking you loved it."

"Loved it? I wanted to be sick!" She laughed.

"So why'd you do it then?" He asked her.

"Because I'm an idiot?" She shrugged. "Because I wanted to make you think I was a little bit different? Because I wanted to spend some time with you?"

"Oh, you're different." He smiled. "I ain't never met a girl like you before, Montana."

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"Good. It's good, trust me." He said. "And listen, it goes without saying but the next time you wanna spend time with me, you don't gotta eat bugs." He laughed. "Whenever that time is right, okay?"

She nodded. "I uh… I better get back to work."

He nodded in response. "Thanks for this, Linds." He said, gesturing to the bag. "You really didn't need to, but it was nice."

She smiled. "I'll catch you later?"

He nodded again. "Sure."

She stood and moved towards the door. She opened the glsss door before pausing momentarily. She turned back to face him and opened her mouth before closing it again.

"You okay?" He asked at her antics.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah I'm fine... I uh, I just… you mean a lot to me." She said softly. "I know I'm not showing it right now but… you do. I just want you to know that."

Before he could say anything in response, she was gone. He glanced down to the picture of them on his desk and he smiled.

She meant a lot to him too.

—

**Thanks for reading! **


	6. Raising Shane

_Set during and after the episode, 3x11, Raising Shane._

—————————————

Desperately glancing around as she watched him reaching into his locker, she fought with herself as she tried to find some words to prevent him from doing this. Something. Anything.

When she had seen the messages flash up on the screen she felt her heart drop. _Send Messer. Alone. _She knew there wasn't going to be a question about whether or not he'd do it. He'd spent the last two days putting his neck out on the line for Hawkes. As he did for everyone else too.

_That_ didn't make _this_ any easier.

She had no idea what was going to happen but it appeared she was the only one that felt this way about it. They'd all agreed and formulated a plan whilst she stood motionless, speechless and in disbelief at what she was hearing. She couldn't think of a single thing to contribute other than you've all lost your damn minds! She didn't want to be a part of this, nor did she want to encourage it or advocate for it to happen.

Things had been really difficult between her and Danny recently. Really difficult. She knew she'd hurt him, she'd hurt herself by pushing him away. But with the trial she was testifying in fast approaching; she needed time. She needed to focus all of her strength on getting justice for her friends. She needed to be headstrong and prepared. But what she hadn't realised was that pushing him away had done more harm than good. She'd been miserable and it had made this process a hell of a lot harder.

Why she couldn't just tell him and let him in she'd never know!

She wasn't sure but she thought that he knew what was going on. He'd never explicitly told her but she had a feeling. He'd cover for her when things got too much, he checked in to make sure she was okay, the way he looked at her sometimes made her think he knew… after all, he had access to a wealth of paperwork that would tell him exactly what happened that night. She wouldn't blame him for trying to find the answers she just couldn't give him herself.

And when she had pushed him away, thankfully he'd pushed back against her gently. She knew he was there for her but things hadn't been the same really. She hadn't let them. But he wasn't giving up. He wasn't letting go and for that she was thankful… because she needed him more than she'd ever realised.

But, the prospect of him being put in danger? This didn't sit right. Their job was always full of risks and challenges and she was used to that. But this? This was a different level.

Deciding she'd had enough of the silence in the locker room, she cleared her throat. "Danny you don't have to do this. I know you want to help Hawkes." She couldn't get her voice above a whisper. "I get that, I really do... but Shane Casey? Alone? He's so dangerous Danny. He's so dangerous."

"I'm sorry, Linds." He didn't even look up from what he was doing."but this isn't up for a debate."

She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed him softly, desperate to get him to look at her. "Danny." She said.

He eventually turned and licked his lips."What?"

"Please." She whispered. "Danny you need to think about this carefully."

"There ain't anything to think about." He said as he secured his Kevlar vest.

"What would you say if this were me?"

"You already did this to me. The Fieldcrest jewellers case?" He reminded her. Upon her questioning look, he sighed "The Holly Golightly case?"

"Oh..."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Think back to how you felt then, Linds, you were so determined to help that girl. Remember?"

She sighed. She remembered.

"Exactly" he continued. "And that was for a total stranger. I'm sorry, I know you're scared but I gotta do this."

"Do you?" She asked. "I know you wanna help Danny, but… I'm begging you to think about this. Take Hawkes out of the situation; we can get him out, okay? We have the evidence we need without the gun. What happens if when you go in there-"

"Lindsay, this guy? He's a total scumbag." He spat, interrupting her. "He's rockin' around with that poor bartender's ring thinkin' it's his brother's. The kid is messed up. This ain't gonna rest until-" he trailed off as he shut his locker. "This ain't gonna be put to rest until he's off the street, whether that's in jail or down in the morgue."

Biting her lip, she desperately wracked her brains for something else to say. Something else to convince him not to go through with it. "Mac's just as upset as you but he won't mind if you say no Danny. Everyone will understand."

"Maybe so." He shrugged. "I'm sorry Montana, but I gotta do this."

"Please?" She whispered. "There has to be another way, Danny. There has to be."

"There isn't, Montana." Danny said simply."And anyway… he would do it for us."

"I know." She sighed. "I just…. you… I…"

"Listen," he said, holding onto her shoulders with both of his hands. "If I thought for a moment there was another way of doing this, I'd do it… there ain't and I think in your heart you know that too, right?"

She looked on at him with tears in her eyee. "I just… please be careful."

"I will." He nodded. He glanced around for a moment before pulling her towards him. He wrapped her in a tight hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Just in case." He whispered against her hairline before pulling himself away from her. "You mean a lot to me kiddo, you need to know that. Okay?"

"Don't do that." She whispered. "Please don't do this."

"I'm sorry." He began. "But I don't have any choice. We gotta go… you comin'?"

She swallowed and took a deep breath. She grabbed her Kevlar from the bench and nodded reluctantly. He reached out to her and grabbed her hand for a moment, squeezing it in reassurance. She squeezed it back before he let go again. They made their way out of the locker room together and she couldn't help but feel sick. She had an awful, terrible feeling about this.

————————

Waiting outside with baited breath; Lindsay's heart was racing. She had positioned herself near the window so she could hear his voice. She was so scared, terrified actually. Being on the outside looking in, literally, was one of the more horrific things she'd had to endure whilst working in New York. Being outside and not being able to help him, to do anything, made her feel like she could throw up. It also made her feel like she was sixteen years old again and that was dragging memories up she'd desperately tried to keep suppressed for as long as she possibly could.

But as scared as she was, she knew he'd been just as frightened. She could see it in the way he'd moved tentatively into the abandoned bar. She could hear it in his voice.

This was what it must have felt like for him when she went into the hostage situation during the Holly Golightly case. He'd begged her not to and she hadn't listened.

And now she was getting her own taste of how it felt.

"He'll be okay." Stella whispered in Lindsay's ear, disturbing her thoughts. "He's done stuff like this before."

Lindsay turned and offered her a smile in acknowledgment but decided against using her voice, knowing full well it would fail her if she did.

She turned her attention back to training her ears on the sounds coming from inside the bar. She could hear Danny's voice steady and strong. He was holding up the bag containing the ring he'd found and she knew things were about to take a turn for the worst. Shane Casey was not going to take too kindly to the evidence that his brother was a murderer being laid out in front of him.

"I know a thing or two about going to bat for your brother."

Louie.

After Louie had woken from that coma he'd been in; he hadn't really been the same according to Danny. It was like one of his wires had disconnected and he was… different. He hadn't really said how he was different. and Lindsay hadn't asked. She could tell it was a snippet of information he had shared with her in a moment of weakness and she could tell in his eyes he prayed she didn't ask questions.

The DA had considered prosecuting him for his involvement in the murder that happened in the giants stadium but with the full confession from Sonny Sassone he'd collected in the form of the wire he'd been wearing that night; they'd decided that there wasn't enough evidence to convict him for anything other than assisting in the disposal of a body and perverting the course of justice. Due to his injuries sustained in his beating though and the twenty something years that had passed since that fateful night, rightly or wrongly, it hadn't been a priority case.

She wasn't entirely sure what had happened after that. Danny hadn't really mentioned him but the one off occasion when he had, it had been in the past tense. Louie used to; Louie had. Lindsay wasn't necessarily sure what that meant but she assumed that Danny had decided cut ties with him, despite his initial desperation to get him to wake up

Shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts, Lindsay curled her fingers around the trigger of her gun clutched in her hands. She normally would do anything to avoid shooting to kill… but not today. She'd happily train a gun on Shane Casey and shoot him straight in the chest to make sure she kept Danny safe.

She thoughts were broken as she heard Shane Casey shouting.

_Oh god, please be careful Danny._

She could hear Danny's voice hitch and him raising his voice in response.

She glanced around her to scope out everyone else's reactions. Mac was stoic, Stella was unreadable and Flack looked ready to pounce.

So just her having a mental breakdown… _great_.

She knew on the inside her colleagues would be worried and they'd had a lot more experience of these situations. She'd only joined the lab a year and a half ago and whilst she'd crammed in a hell of a lot in those eighteen months, these high stress, high stakes situations were still scary for her.

Plus, Danny meant a lot to her…a hell of a lot. Sure they'd cooled off over the last couple of months but that hadn't changed the way she felt about him: if anything it made her feel stronger about him. He was her safety net. He was the one she went to on a tough day. He was the one who wiped her tears… even after she'd pushed him away.

He meant so much to her and she couldn't bear this.

She heard crashing, shouting and scuffling and then for a moment, silence. Her heart raced as she prayed for some movement, a sign that things were okay. She watched as the door opened and her eyes fell on Danny as he stumbled out with Shane Casey in handcuffs.

For the first time since he'd walked into the abandoned bar, she let out a sigh of relief.

_Thank god_.

Stella, Mac and Flack rushed towards him and whilst she desperately wanted to barge her way through the crowd and wrap her arms around him, she stood back. She knew it probably wasn't the most appropriate action to run towards him while he was escorting Shane Casey to the squad car. She put her gun in her holster, happy that all of her bullets were accounted for within her magazine still.

She watched as the commotion around him dispersed. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she saw him take his glasses off and pinch the bridge of his nose. He let out a sigh before replacing his glasses. She could tell the severity of what had just happened had started to sink in. She looked on as he turned and his eyes fell on her.

Their eyes met and he smiled at her. He mouthed the words, "See, I'm fine," at her.

Despite everything she was feeling, she couldn't help but smile. "Smartass:" she mouthed back, rolling her eyes playfully.

He signed some paperwork from one of Flack's uniformed officers and nodded in response to something they'd asked him.

The activity and bustle was dying down and the squad car Shane Casey had been bundled into was starting to creep down the street to the precinct for processing.

She glanced around. Two uniforms were stood at the door of the bar, Mac was on the phone and Flack was instructing his team. Leaving her and Danny.

She knew things had been strained recently, but she couldn't help her feelings. She couldn't help the tears either. She began walking towards him and he held his arms out. She broke into a jog and collided with his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She gripped to him as quiet tears slipped down her cheeks: she wasn't sure if they were tears of relief or tears of fear - either way, she was unable to stop them.

"I told you I'd be alright." His fingers had settled in her hair and he held her tight. "I told you everything would be okay." He whispered against her temple.

She didn't say anything. Not because she didn't want to but because she couldn't. Instead, she squeezed him tighter and buried her face in his chest.

"Montana, it's okay." He said, "I'm okay… we're okay."

She curled her fingers around his Kevlar vest and squeezed him tight. He extracted his hands from around her hair and held her head in his hands. "Lindsay, look at me."

She broke away from him and looked up at him through her tear filled eyes.

"Are you listenin'?" He asked her.

She nodded.

"I'm fine." He assured her. "Relax, okay? I know you were scared and I know you felt helpless, but it's over now. It's done. We got him."

"I know." She whispered. "I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

"You're never gonna lose me." He pulled her back into a hug. "Never."

She swallowed as she let his words sink in. She'd been terrible to him recently. She'd tried her best to distance herself and it just hadn't worked; he wouldn't let her.

"I'm sorry." She looked up at him through her tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry about what I said, what I did."

"No, listen, hey… you don't gotta be sorry. I get it. You're working stuff out and that's fine. Alright? It's fine. I'll still be here, waiting."

"But why?!" She implored, "I've done nothing but push you away and make things difficult."

"Because you're worth it?" He shrugged; "because I care? Because I feel things about you that I haven't felt before? it might be a long shot Linds, but if I end up with you then it's worth it. If I gotta wait, I'll wait."

She looked at him. He wasn't joking.

She knew it was selfish but she desperately wanted to give him something, anything, so that he didn't give up on her. She'd heard what he'd said and she believed him. She did. She just wasn't sure how long he'd be willing to wait for.

"I just need a little bit more time." She said softly.

"Take the time you need." He said. "Listen, they're gonna need my statement and stuff. I know we're not done here but Mac's been lookin' over here for the last five minutes lookin' a little uneasy. Let's press pause on this for now, huh? We can talk later. That sound okay?"

She nodded.

Danny nodded in response and let go of her. He took a breath to steady himself. He picked up his kit that had somehow been placed by his feet by someone they hadn't even noticed. He began walking away from her and she felt a little thud in her chest.

She licked her lips and wiped her eyes quickly, trying to regain some composure. She took a deep breath and turned her heart off for now and switched her head back on; back to Detective Monroe mode.

"Hey Linds." He called back to her, she turned her head, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah?"

"We're even." He smirked. "No more hostage situations, huh?"

"Jackass." She laughed.

He winked at her before jogging over to Mac. She watched him get swooped up into hug from their superior and she let out a sigh.

The second this trial was over, the first thing she was doing was wrapping her arms around Danny Messer and she had not a single intention of ever letting go.

———————

**Finally, a bit of something different! Not sure why but this is super vivid in my head so hope it came across well on "paper" - oh what I would have done to see this play out on screen! Hey ho, I suppose that's the point of FanFiction, huh? **

**Hope you enjoyed this one. Still got a fair few chapters left however, it is moving quickly towards the trial and full steam ahead towards the end - and then onto my next little project! **

**As always, your thoughts are always appreciated- they make my day just as much as they used to 1000 years ago when I started posting! **

**Thanks for reading! **


	7. Silent Night

**A/N: so, firstly hi! Hello! Hope things are going well! Secondly, things are a-changing in the story! Also, little cameo from another character this chapter too! We're nearly out of the angsty angst… ish! Okay not at all really, however, stick with it and stick with me... I promise it'll be cute and fluffy and totally worth it!**

—-

_Set after the episode 3x12, Silent Night._

—-

She knew things hadn't been right when Lindsay had disappeared from the scene. She knew the attitude she'd gotten from Lindsay in the hallway had been completely out of character. She knew her sobbing in the morgue over two teenagers was something Lindsay had never done before.

She had no idea what was going on. A terrible crime? Friends of hers had died? Firstly, _how_ had this never come up before? And second… _Why_ had she never told anyone?

Sure Lindsay had her boundaries. She kept her work life and personal life separate - and rightly so. However, Stella Bonasera couldn't help but wonder if a certain someone knew more than he'd ever let on. Glancing over her shoulder, Stella quietly pushed through the glass door, closing it behind her.

"Hey Stell."

"Hey." She began. "Did you manage to wrap the Mackenzie Wade case?"

"Yeah, yeah." Danny nodded. "Just finished the paperwork and everythin'" he held up the DD5 to support his statement.

"Great, thanks." Stella sat down on Lindsay's seat and she took it from him and absentmindedly flicked through his reports. "All looks great, thanks Danny."

"How the hell would you know? You haven't read a single word of that." He mused as he clicked the mouse of his computer as he closed some web pages and documents. "Could have written a load of crap for all you know."

"Watch it." She warned him. "I'll check over it later; my mind is elsewhere right now, sorry." She said as she set the file on Lindsay's desk.

"Hey, have you seen her today?" Danny gestured to Lindsay's desk. "Feel like I haven't seen her in days."

"Yeah… about Lindsay actually, I uh… I wanted to ask you some things about her. Off the record."

"I don't know how I feel about that." Danny furrowed his brow. He dropped his pen and leant forwards. "Is she okay? What's the matter?"

"I think she's okay." Stella faltered at Danny's pointed stare. "Acrually, I'm not too sure, Danny."

Danny licked his lips and folded his arms over his chest. He leant back in his chair. "What's the matter, Stella? Is Lindsay okay? What happened?"

"Do you think she's okay?"

"On the whole? Yeah."

"No, I mean… in herself. You don't feel like she's different or…"

He narrowed his eyes. She knew she was being out of character and she also knew it was worrying Danny considerably.

"Why do you need to talk about Lindsay off the record?" He asked.

"She's not in trouble nor am I trying to get her into trouble." She assured him. "I'm just… I'm worried about her Danny. Has she been different? Distant maybe? Distracted?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Things have been… I guess a little different."

"You two aren't as close anymore." Stella pointed out.

"It's complicated." He shrugged. "We uh… yeah."

"Listen, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Tell me if I'm overstepping the mark.." Stella trailed off at Danny's nod and cleared her throat. "Before I say anything else; this goes no further." She began. "Okay? Between Lindsay's two friends."

Danny nodded.

"She left a crime scene yesterday." Stella told him. "Didn't say anything to anyone."

"Okay." He nodded.

"And she cried down in the morgue earlier today."

"She cried?" He asked, leaning forwards.

Stella nodded. "Has she… ever mentioned being the survivor of a crime to you?"

Danny rocked back and forth in his chair.

"Danny?" Stella pressed.

"Not in as many words." He explained. "But I uh…. her friends… they-" he trailed off. "She was the only one that survived it." He finished.

"That's what she said." Stella paused. "How do you know? Did she tell you?"

"No… I uh, I found an article." He shrugged. "Online archive from '89. I knew it was her because I'd seen a picture that featured in the article in her apartment."

"You've been to her apartment?" Stella quizzed.

"Outta all of that information, you focus on that?" Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've been a couple of times, sure… like you said, we're close."

Stella nodded and logged the information for another time. "Does she know you know?" Upon Danny's look, Stella sighed. "Listen, I won't tell her about this… I just, I'm worried about her. Really worried...she's not the same. I swear this is coming from a place of love. I just feel like she needs a friend or two right now."

Danny sighed and began shuffling papers around on his desk. "Good luck. She does a fantastic job of pushing you away."

"Like someone else I know." Stella laid her hand on his hands. "She needs us Danny. She needs you."

"Me?" He scoffed. "She doesn't need me."

"She does." Stella said softly. Once she was confident she'd gotten his attention, she glanced down at her watch. "I sent her home an hour ago. Maybe uh... maybe on your way home you could see how she is?"

"Yeah:" Danny nodded. "Maybe."

"Great." Stella nodded. She stood up from Lindsay's chair and crossed the room. She threw Danny his leather jacket and turned off the office light. "Your shift is over."

"I got another hour and a half." Danny turned his desk lamp on. "I'll go then."

"No, you're done." She said, walking towards him. "Bye Danny."

"Stella?" He laughed at her insistence.

"Bye." She said again; this time with finality in her voice. "Let me know, okay?"

Sighing and relenting, he stood and shoved his arms though the sleeves of his jacket. "Sure thing."

—-

Running a hand down his face, Danny sighed heavily.

He'd looked for her _everywhere_. Her place. His place. Places he knew she frequented on her days off. He'd gone to her gym - although he knew she hadn't been in months. He'd even gone to her uncle's place in Terrytown. When there was no sign of her anywhere, he'd panicked.

Based on what Stella had told him, Lindsay was spiralling and he needed to find her. Fast. He hadn't wanted to tell Stella what he'd told her. It had felt wrong but he knew it was getting to crunch time. Lindsay was beginning to flounder at work. He'd told himself when he'd read the article, that so long as everything was okay with her work wise, he wait on the benches until he was called up to bat.

It had taken longer than he expected, her being the trooper she was, but it was his turn to finally go and bat for her.

Glancing down at his phone, he let out a sigh of relief.

Stella

He opened the message to an address. _Hope she's okay, let me know if you need anything. Thanks Danny._

Danny typed out a quick response thanking her before pocketing his phone. He glanced up at his surroundings and made his way to the nearest subway station. It'd be quicker to get to her via the subway rather than racing across the city on foot.

As he sprinted down the stairs, he tried to rid the bad thoughts from bombarding him. She'd be alright. And even if she wasn't, he was on his way.

—-

He stood just outside the door of the bar; letting himself catch his breath. He'd ran the entire way from the subway station and needed a moment to compose himself. He glanced up at the bar. He was sure they'd been here for drinks before. It was quieter than most bars in New York and he remembered she liked it here. Made her feel like she was back home.

He pushed through the doors and scanned the relatively empty bar. He felt a sigh of relief leave his lips as his eyes fell on her. She was tucked away in a booth, nursing a glass of wine.

He stopped at the bar and ordered himself a beer before he went over and took a seat opposite her. He was silent for a moment and let her adjust to his presence.

"How'd you find me?"

"Let's just day it's a good job I'm a detective 'cause you're hard to track down." He mused, taking a sip of his beer. "Plus, I uh… well I uh… I had Stella triangulate your phone for me."

"Knew I should have turned it off:" she sighed, as she twirled the spine of the nearly empty wine glass in her fingertips. "Aren't you still on the clock?"

"Things changed." He said cryptically.

She nodded and chewed on her lip before raising her glass to her lips, taking a sip of her wine.

"A funny choice of drink to drown sorrows your. Montana." he commented. "I tend to go for something slightly more destructive."

"If I drink wine, I go slower. Didn't trust myself with anything else tonight."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. He was taking the image of her in. He knew she'd been crying again. He could tell from the smears of mascara on her cheeks. Plus her eyes were bloodshot which was a dead giveaway.

She couldn't look at him and it was like a dagger in his chest. He could see how much she was hurting and fighting with her inner demons. He didn't want to think about how long she'd been here, not in the bar per say, but more in the place of turmoil and pain.

Finally deciding against letting the silence last any longer, he placed his beer down and reached for her hands."Montana, what's up with you? What the hell is going on?" He paused. "Talk to me."

"I can't." She shook her head, pulling her hands away from him. "It's just been a bad day, that's all."

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "Look, I appreciate your concern but-"

"This ain't concern, Montana. I was concerned for you when Stella told me you'd left a scene yesterday and you'd cried in the morgue." He reached across the table and grabbed her free hand again. "It's more than that now. I care about you. I'm worried, let me try and help."

"I appreciate the efforts you've gone to, Danny but I really need to by by myself because whilst I-."

He licked his lips and she continued to ramble about why she needed to be by herself. He knew he needed to let her in on the secret he'd been keeping; it was going to be the only way he could get through to her.

"- and that's why I'd really rather you leave and let me just deal with it."

"Montana." he said softly, trying to get her attention. "Look at me."

She looked at him and sighed.

"I'm not willin' to do that."

"Why?" She implored. "Why do you keep pushing, why won't you just let me do this my way? You're wasting your time with 't you see how broken I am? Why do you wanna waste your time?."

"I'm not." He shook his head.

"You are!" She slammed her hand on the table. "How many times do you want me to tell you I'm not lookin' for anything?" She let out a breath and took his hands from across the table. "There are so many other women you could be falling for. I'm not the person you deserve because you deserve so much more. I can't give you what you deserve Danny. You deserve someone who can spend the time with you and be fun and cute and sexy and I'm not that. I… I'm not that. I'm an absolute mess, it's not worth your time."

"Who said I wanted any of that? " He linked his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand tightly. "You're making assumptions and that's not fair."

"I'm not!" She cried, "I'm just trying to save you the heartache and 's way too many pieces to put back together with me, it's not worth your effort. I'm not worth your efforts."

"Linds don't you see? I ain't interested in anyone else. I'd rather wait for you."

"But I don't want you to wait for me." She sniffled, sadly. "I want you to be happy."

"And I will be." He said, taking her hand again. "If time is what you need; time is what you'll have. I ain't goin' nowhere. I don't know how many times you want me to tell you this. For the final time; I am not going anywhere."

"You would if you knew."

"Knew what?" He arched his brow at her.

"Nothing." She shook her head, "Forget I said it." She bit her lip and avoided his eyes.

He knew that he could be making a mistake… but he felt like a part of her was so close to telling him, telling him what he already knew. Deciding to push one last time, he reached across the table. He swiped a curl from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. "Let me in Linds. I can help, it might make things easier."

"You have no idea Danny. You might think you know what this feels like but you have no idea."

He hooked his finger under her chin and made her eyes meet his, "Lindsay, I know."

"You don't Danny, trust me."

"No… I know."

"You know what?" She barked.

"I _know_."

"For goodness sake Danny, stop talking in riddles!"

"I _know_." He said again, emphasising the know. "I know what happened. I know about your friends. I know about Lucy, Caroline and Kelly… the diner, the trial coming up. I know about it all."

She blinked at him. "What?" She whispered breathlessly.

"I know what happened." He said again, letting his words sink in.

"How?" She whispered.

"Internet." He admitted. "I'm sorry. I know I've probably crossed a line and I get you're probably mad with me but… I had to know what was going on with you and I figured you weren't going to tell me yourself so…I did what I had to. For the record, it was only ever stuff on the internet. I haven't pulled any files or anything like that. I just… I'm sorry Linds. I really care about you and i couldn't bear to be in the dark about it all."

"How long have you known?"

He did the calculations in his head. There was no easy way to tell her. He licked his lips and swallowed the lump in his throat. "A few weeks."

"How long?" She asked him again, he knew she wanted details. Exact details.

"The day you told me you couldn't be with me."

Her face fell as his words sank in. "What?"

"I…"

"The Tanya Reynolds case?" She asked.

He nodded.

She licked her lips. "When you found me crying in the locker room?" She asked, "did you know then?"

He nodded again.

She was silent for a moment and he knew it wasn't good.

"Linds, honey, listen, I know you're upset but-"

"Upset?" She spluttered. "You think I'm upset? You think this is me being upset? Oh trust me, I'm so much more than upset… I… I can't believe… I can't even bear to look at you! Go to hell!" She cried as she stood from the booth and stormed out of the bar.

Standing quickly and grabbing both of their coats, he raced after her. As he reached her outside, she was sat on the step, her knees curled up to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, keeping them in place. He settled next to her, as close as he possibly could without touching her. He placed her coat over her shoulders before placing his jacket over his lap.

It took her a moment but she soon found the words the words he was expecting to hear.

"You betrayed my trust." She said, her voice was quieter than he had expected. He could hear the sadness in her voice."You betrayed me. How dare you go behind my back and do that. Who the hell do you think you are? If I'd have wanted you to know, I'd have told you myself. What gives you the right to invade my privacy like that?"

"Nothing." He said simply. "Nothing gives me the right." He began. "However, being your friend means that sometimes I gotta do things that you might not necessarily agree with. I didn't mean to betray your trust Linds, I had to know though. I had to." He paused as he took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I couldn't watch you push me away and not know why. I couldn't watch you lose your sparkle and not know why. I couldn't watch you cry and not know why. I'm sorry I hurt you and kept it from you but I'm not sorry about doing it." He said firmly.

"Why would you do that to me?" She whispered.

"Because I care about you Lindsay. I care an awful lot."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Honestly?" He said, looking her in her eyes. "I don't know. I wish I knew. Something was stopping me."

She sighed.

"Lindsay, I'm sorry, you've gotta understand I didn't do it for any reason other than caring about you." He paused. "I just wanted to help."

She let out an even longer sigh than before. They fell into complete silence and he knew it was best for him to stop talking and let her process everything. He knew he'd just dropped a tonne of bricks on her and whilst he felt bad about keeping it from her; he was beyond relieved that she finally knew that he knew. He hoped the burden would be taken from her shoulders, knowing she was no longer alone. He hoped she'd forgive him. He also hoped that it wouldn't change how she felt about him.

Finally, after what felt like forever; she cleared her throat. "You know what," she shook her head. "You don't need to be sorry. It's me that should be sorry. I've been so desperately unfair to you… I just. I thought I was making the right decision." She paused. "I assumed you wouldn't want the baggage and selfishly I didn't want you to think of me any differently. I liked being the Montana you first met, not the Montana with all the baggage."

"You still are her," he said softly, trying to reassure her. "This doesn't change anything. Nothing has changed."

"I'm sorry I told you to go to hell."

"Don't worry about it." He laughed, wrapping his arm around her. "People have said far worse before."

"Doesn't make it okay."

"It was deserved." He shrugged.

"If I'm honest," she began, leaning into him. "part of me wondered if you knew anyway."

"Really?" He turned to look at her.

"I wasn't sure, but… yeah."

"What gave it away?" He asked.

"A couple of things." She shrugged, laying her head on his shoulder. "The way you've been looking at me, not in a bad way. It wasn't the pity stare I used to get but more of a, _why won't you tell me, _kinda look. Then there was the lack of questions about my thing with mothers when we were working on the suicide girls case. And I don't know, I guess when there's a lot of blood at a scene you try and get me onto witness statements and stuff… away from the scene. I figured you might have just been trying to be nice but your persistence and consistency with it made me wonder if you knew something more." She trailed off. "It made sense in my head."

"I hear ya." He nodded. "And you're not too far from being right. I uh… I guess I took those things and did what I could to help without letting you know I knew." He shrugged. "I see your face when it's pools of blood and people face down and…" he sighed as he couldn't find the words to finish his sentence.

"And you know I'm picturing my friends." She concluded.

He nodded.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't know what to say. I thought I could do it by myself. I thought I could be pragmatic and brave and strong about it but I don't think I can."

"You are all of those things and more Montana." He told her. "Just because this is hard and it's making you feel things; that doesn't mean you're not brave and strong. If anything it's the opposite. To go through what you did at the age you did…" he pressed a kiss to her temple. "It can't have been easy. Nothing about this is easy… but you are strong. You are brave. You can do this. You'll get him."

"Some days I think I'll be fine on the stand, but others… I can't even bear the thought of seeing him again. Never mind telling the jury what happened. I've testified so many times before but never as a witness. What if they don't believe me?"

"How could they not believe you?" Danny implored.

"They're basing their case on my testimony though. I was the only eye witness. What if I crumble?"

"You can't think in that way. You aren't gonna crumble. You aren't doing this for you, you're doing it for them. Your friends. You do this day in, day out. You can do this, Linds. I know you can."

"I hope so." She said. "I just… Danny, what if their moms are there? Lucy's mom… Kelly's mom… I just. I feel sick at the thought. Caroline's mom died a couple of years ago but I know Lucy and Kelly's moms will be there; what do I say? What do I do?"

"You can show them how much you've accomplished and how you can be the person to bring justice to their daughter's killer." He said. "Lindsay, it's not your fault you didn't die that night."

"They don't see it that way."

"Maybe they don't." He said softly. "But you have to remember their better sense is clouded by the loss of their daughters."

She fell silent for a moment and her teeth began chattering in the cold, New York evening air.

"Listen, let me take you home, ok?" Danny said softly.

She nodded. He stood quickly and offered her his hand, pulling her up to her feet. He let go of her as he put his jacket on and once he had, they began walking side by side back towards the subway.

After a couple hundred yards of silence, he took her hand and squeezed it tight. "Do you feel better now?"

"Not really," her voice was quiet and sad.

"Why?"

"Because you've made this so much easier. I've felt peace for the first time since i found out I had to testify and all it took was for me to tell you a little bit about what was going on. I could have avoided all the anxiety and hurt and heartbreak if I had just let you in to begin with." She sighed heavily. "I'm such an idiot."

"Hey!" He chastised her. "You did what you thought was right." He explained. "Sometimes you've gotta go with your instincts."

"What about if your instincts get it wrong?"

"How will you know if you don't give it a chance?" He countered. "You're gonna be alright Linds. You know that, don't you?"

She shrugged as they descended down the stairs of the subway station. "I'm not sure."

He stopped them on the stairs and with his free hand he lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. He held her face in place as he locked eyes with her. "Listen to me. You are gonna be fine. You are gonna get him, you'll do this for them. This is gonna be everything you need it to be: this will give you the closure and peace you've been waiting for. You're gonna look him in the eyes and identify him and you ain't gonna crumble. Trust me."

"I hope you're right." She sighed.

"I am right." He told her with finality in his voice. "And I'll be there cheering you on. You've got this kiddo. Trust me."

She pursed her lips together and sighed; relenting. He could tell that she was starting to consider the possibility that he might be right. Before she had the chance to say anything else; he closed the distance between them and placed a soft kiss to her lips. It had been the longest time since he last kissed her. He felt her kiss him back and they quickly melted into each other.

However, at the sound of a train fast approaching the station; they broke away and began the descent down the stairs again. He knew they'd miss this one but maybe they'd manage to catch the next one. And maybe he could carry on kissing her whilst they waited.

As they approached the platform, he took her hand and pulled her towards him, holding her against him. "I know you need time and space." He said softly, lying his forehead against hers so he could look into her eyes. "And I'm willing to give you that, but just know I'll be waiting, alright? I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I know it's a long shot choosing me Linds, but I promise I'll make it worth it."

"I know you will."

"So I know you're not ready yet and I respect that but… when you are, let me know? Okay?"

She nodded. "I will."

"You promise?"

"I promise," she whispered against his lips.

—

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! As always, thoughts are massively appreciated! **


	8. The Lying Game

**Hey! Another update here. Hope you enjoy this one. **

**Also, as a heads up, italics denote text messages... **

—

_Set after the episode, 3x14 - The Lying Game _

_—-_

_Danny,_

_I'm not good a long goodbyes, or short ones for that matter. But Montana calls and the cows are heading home MOO. _

_See you soon. _

_Montana_

He sighed heavily as his eyes absorbed her words properly. He hadn't really had the chance in the AV lab as he'd barely finished reading it before Mac had appeared, quizzing him about the case and his findings.

He sat back on the couch and let out a long, laboured sigh. A part of him was pretty hurt she hadn't managed to say goodbye to him in person: he'd watched her with Mac and Stella. In fact, he'd watched the whole thing from the hallway. The advantages of the entire lab having glass walls. However, a part of him wished he hadn't seen it. A part of him wished he hadn't seen her at all… because now, he just desperately missed her. It didn't help either that Hawkes had told him she'd offered even him a quick goodbye!

He knew it'd be at least three weeks she'd be gone for. He had known it was coming and it wasn't as if it was a surprise. But god, it stung. He'd managed to push back against her but she had spent a good chunk of the last couple of months pushing him away as far as she possibly could.

So for her to not say goodbye hurt more than he thought it would.

He knew she didn't mean it. He knew she'd written him a card because she couldn't say goodbye. He hoped it was because she couldn't say goodbye to him. He hoped that she cared about him. No, he knew she cared about him- probably more so than the others.

He wished he could make all of this go away for her but he knew this was something she had to do. And once it was finally over and done with, he hoped that they could maybe get back to being them again.

—

Sitting by her gate, she sighed heavily. Danny's face was swirling around in her head and she just couldn't get him out of her mind. A part of her had wished that she hadn't seen him as she was leaving. Seeing him made things so much harder. Seeing him made things more real.

It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to see him -she just didn't want to say goodbye to him. Everyone else she could handle. Not him though. How could she say goodbye to her pillar of strength? He was as good as her best friend and whilst she knew she'd gone about it in every wrong way possible, she hoped he'd forgive her.

She heard her phone ping and she pulled it out of her pocket. Right on time, right on cue.

Danny.

She opened the message and smiled at his words. _You're a goofball. _

She looked up around her and fought the grin tugging at her lips. She quickly tapped out a reply. _Are you just realising this now or…?_ She held her phone in her hand waiting for his response.

_No, I always knew you were a goofball. MOO? What the hell is that?_

She giggled and wrote out her response.

_Damn city boy, I never realised how sheltered you were! moo is a sound a cow makes. A cow is an animal you get that white liquid from called milk. Anything else you need to know?_

She waited for his reply.

_Are you always such a smartass or…? Seriously though for the card. It's cute. Made me smile. Wish I coulda got one of those hugs you dished out to Mac and Stella though._

She felt a pang of guilt course through her. _I wanted to try and say goodbye to your face but you were hard to pin down today. Glad you got it._

She bit her lip. Okay so it wasn't entirely true, but he wouldn't know that.

_Hmmm, I'm not sure I believe you Montana._

Busted. She sighed and tried to think of a response. Before she could, another message filtered through.

_And anyway, Hawkes blew your cover. You leaving ain't a big deal huh?_

She rolled her eyes before typing out her response, reiterating her same words from earlier_. I'll be back!_

She held her phone in her hand and sighed heavily.

_Would have still liked to say goodbye in person, Linds._

She closed her eyes as she let his words sink in. Sheldon had been right. She'd been unfair. Selfish. She'd be gone for at least three weeks, if not more. It was going to be the longest she'd ever not seen him for since they'd met.

_You deserved more. I'm sorry Danny… I just, couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye I guess._

She let out a breath and shifted in the uncomfortable chair.

_Goodbye? You'll be back in a couple of weeks, right?_

She glanced down to her phone. _Hopefully, depends on the trial. For what it's worth, I'll miss you._

It took seconds for his response to come through. _Not as much as I'll miss you._

She chewed her lip as she tried to think of a response. Before she could, another message from him pinged. _Listen, if you need anything, let me know okay? I know you wanna do this all on your own and stuff and I respect that but if you need someone to lean on, I'm here for you._

She let out a sigh. Her fingers tapped out her response. _I know you are._

She wanted to say more, she did, she just didn't know what.

_Where are you now then?_ Was his next message.

_At the gate, twiddling my thumbs. Catching the red eye. Hoping I get the row of seats to myself_!

She let out a sigh, she had a feeling that had she said her apartment; he would have been there faster than he ever had before. She still wanted to say more to Danny, but she just couldn't find the words. She knew he'd changed the subject because of her short, simple response. He deserved more from her; she just didn't know what. Before she knew it, his next response was in.

_Got my fingers crossed for ya!_

Crap, she thought, nothing to respond to. She closed her eyes and let out a long, laboured breath. Now was her chance.

—

Tossing his phone to the couch, he let out a long sigh. God this was difficult. He wanted to say so much more to her but what? What hadn't he already said to her? Nothing was getting through to her. She was happy giving him the bear minimum and it didn't feel right pushing her for more. She'd been up front and honest with him and he couldn't fault her for it. He also couldn't fault her for trying to push him away. Thinking about it, he couldn't say he wouldn't do exactly the same. But being on the receiving end stung.

But, the positive was she'd admitted she didn't want to say goodbye to him. He was partially relieved that he was right after all. Not that it made it any better or easier.

He placed his feet on the coffee table and reached for the remote to change the channel. As he did so, he heard his message tone ping again. He glanced down and smiled at the sight of Lindsay's name on his screen. He pressed read and his eyes scanned her message.

_Listen, I know I've done nothing but push you away and I wish I could go back and do things differently now. You don't deserve one word answers and I wish I could give you more than what I can give you right now. I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye to you today. I feel really, really bad about it. I just care about you Danny, I care about you a lot, and I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you and having to saying goodbye. I don't know why it seemed like such a big deal but it was. I hope you're not too hurt… maybe when I get back we can go for dinner or something? Maybe some drinks? Have some laughs?_

He smiled at her words. She was extending the olive branch. Those were the same words he'd said to her in the hallway a couple of months ago. He'd been desperate to try and grapple with her, he'd been clutching at straws in that moment, desperate to try and change her mind.

It had felt like a dagger to his chest as she walked away from him, but over the past couple of months, he'd understood why. A part of him appreciated her distancing herself as he knew it wasn't easy for her to do. He knew in his heart she liked him as much as he liked her and he knew she felt like she'd had no choice.

He began tapping out his reply and couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips.

_Dinner, drinks and some laughs sounds perfect. You let me know where and when and I'll be there, ready and waiting for you Montana._

He didn't have to wait long for his response.

_Perfect! And I promise you I'll turn up this time._

It was music to his ears. He had a hundred things he wanted to say in response to her. He figured he'd get straight to the point. _Even if you don't, I'll still wait for you. I'll wait for however long you need me to._

He waited with baited breath for her response. _Don't worry, after this is all over, there's no more waiting. I'm just about to board… wish we could talk more but I have to go._

Hoping she'd given him enough time to respond; he quickly typed out a message. _Have a safe flight Linds, remember… if you need anything from me, let me know, okay? Speak soon. Be brave kiddo, you can do this. When it gets hard just remember - you're doing it for them._

He kept his phone in his hand, hoping for a response but not expecting one. He didn't have to wait for long.

_I really needed that, more than you'll ever know. You always know exactly what I need somehow._

He smiled. _Don't know what it is with you, just can't help myself. Guess it's my instincts._

Her response came quickly. _Well, keep going with your instincts because they haven't failed you yet._

He quickly tapped out his final response to her. _Listen, I know you've gotta go. Look after yourself, Linds. Speak to you soon._ He set his phone down, assuming that was the end to their string of messages. He made a mental note of her words. They hadn't been this open and honest with each other in a long time. But whatever she needed to do in order for her to heal was fine with him: he'd support her in anyway he could. After a couple more minutes of silence from her end, he assumed she'd switched her phone off, ready for her flight.

As he shuffled on the couch, settling in for the night, he let out a long sigh. Hopefully, after this was all over, they could get back whatever normal for them was.

Until then he'd be waiting, ready to step in if she needed him.

————- 

**A/N: there we have it. Only a couple more chapters left now. Hope you enjoyed this instalment. Thanks for reading! **


	9. Sleight out of Hand 1

**A/N: hi! Feels like forever since I updated but life has been busy! There's about three chapters left of this now - after this at least! **

**Also, italics denote text messages. Hope it makes sense! **

**Enjoy! **

**—-**

_Set during the first part of the episode 3x18, Sleight our of hand_

_—_

"I'm losin' my mind." He shook his head again as he turned his attention back to his analysis. Was he seriously hallucinating? Was he actually _that_ tired? He couldn't deny the way he felt when he thought he'd seen her bouncing down the hallway with her sparkly smile plastered across her face.

God he missed her.

Lindsay had been on his mind all day. He'd known it was the first day of her testimony and ever since Stella had said she hadn't sounded good on the phone, he couldn't shake the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They hadn't spoken since the night she left New York for Montana. He'd not wanted to add extra pressure or invade her thoughts during the undoubtedly stressful time. She'd set out a boundary that he had wanted to respect. She had distanced herself for a reason. However upon hearing she didn't sound good, he wondered if it was time to step over that boundary… again.

He glanced around and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He wasn't sure what to say. He leant back in his chair for a moment before typing out some words.

_Hey you, I've been thinking about you all day. Heard you were talking to Stella today, hope everything is going wel_l.

He reread his message and deleted the last line - it just didn't seem right. He absorbed the words again. _Hey you, I've been thinking about you all day. Heard you were talking to Stella today _he searched for something else to say but just didn't know what. What could he say to her knowing she was going through the hardest thing she'd ever had to do? And knowing her she'd probably be there alone as well. He licked his lips and deleted the message. Nothing seemed right. Nothing conveyed what he wanted to say to her. It didn't seem enough.

He pocketed his phone and decided to mull it over for a little bit. He was sure something would come to him eventually.

—-

"When we're done here, you go home. Take the day."

Mac's words swirled in his head as he collected his bag and jacket from his locker. He tossed them onto the bench in the middle of the locker room and pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket. He knew it was pretty late but… late was better than never. He sat down on the bench next to his belongings. He pulled up his and Lindsay's text messages and sighed heavily. He still had no idea what to say but hoped that as he started to type, something half decent would materialise on his screen.

_Hey, I've been thinking about you all day._

He stared at his words. Again, they just didn't seem right, his words didn't seem enough. He wanted to give her more. He wanted to make her feel better if she needed that. Or encouragement. Or strength. He just didn't know how to word what he wanted to say.

He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. God, why was this so difficult? What was stopping him from being able to just come up with something and send it? What the hell was wrong with him? When had he ever struggled with finding something to say to her?

He deleted the message and decided to stop thinking about it. He replaced his glasses and licked his lips as he began his message again.

_Hey you, been trying to think of a way to tell you I've been thinking about you all day but nothing seems to be working. I'm sure you're doing amazing, but just in case you need a little boost, you can do this. You are strong and brave and I'm so proud of you kiddo. I hope things today went well and you got through your testimony the best you could. Be strong Linds. You know where I am if you need anything._

He reread his message and let out a sigh of relief. Finally. He was finally happy with it. He wasn't sure why he'd been struggling so much. He pressed send and quickly shoved his jacket on and slung his bag over his shoulder. He was ready to go home and happily collapse in bed for the next two days.

—

Dragging himself up the stairs of the subway, he yawned heavily. It was well after eleven o'clock now and he was desperately tired. In fact, at this point he was probably past exhausted. He was straight up dead on his feet.

He glanced down at the phone, clutched in his hand. No service. He watched as the service gradually returned to his phone after being underground on the subway. As he approached the street level, he glanced down again and watched her name pop up on his screen. He quickly opened the message and began to read.

_Hey. Thanks for thinking of me. Tough day. Awful day actually. Hated every minute. Don't feel like I did very well, fell to pieces on the stand. So not feeling very brave and strong right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Wish you weren't so far away, could do with all of your words of wisdom right now!_

He let out a long sigh as he read her message again. His heart broke for her. He hated that it had been hard for her - he had known it would be difficult… but for some reason hearing it confirmed left a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

_Oh Montana. That sucks! If it's any consolation I bet you were amazing and did everything you needed to do! Tomorrow's a new day and you'll find the strength within you to nail this guy. You got this. You've got your mom and dad cheering you on, right?_

He was annoyed - again, it didn't seem like enough, but once again, it was all he had to offer her. Her response came quick.

_You always know exactly what to say and do. I've got my mom and dad yeah but they don't get it like you do. They don't understand why I'm putting myself through it all again. Especially my dad. Just adds another element of difficulty. I could do with a friend right now. __Remind me not to push you so far away in future, okay?_

His fingers flew over the buttons of his phone.

_Linds, you know I'm here. You haven't pushed me away. I'm here._

He glanced up from his phone and marvelled at where he was. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed to get to his apartment building, considering he hadn't looked up once… automatic pilot he could only assume! He made his way through the ground floor to his mailbox and emptied the abundance of bills and other crap filling his slot. He shoved it into his mouth, holding his mail in his teeth as he turned his attention back to his phone and continued his message.

_I'd get on a plane for you right now if that's what you needed._

He sent the message and then took the mail from his mouth, shoving it under his arm. He made his way through the stairwell and began his ascent up the stairs. As he took the stairs, her response came through.

_I'd never ask you to do that!_

He sighed as he battled with his mail, his bag, his phone and climbing the stairs_. I know you wouldn't, but I would. If that's what you needed… I'd do it!_

He pushed the door leading to his floor as her response came in.

_Please don't tempt me, I'd do anything to see you right now._

He pocketed his phone for a moment and pushed open his door and sighed as he made his way in. He flicked through the bills he collected as her words swirled round in his head. He had a raging fire burning in the pit of his stomach. He was deathly tired. Exhausted actually. He was aching, sore and his eyes were burning. He let out a long sigh and dropped his mail onto the table in front of him.

"Go with your instincts." Was what she had once told him. They hadn't proved him wrong yet when it came to her. She needed him. That's all he needed to hear. His instincts were screaming at him - she'd been on his mind all day and there was no denying she needed him. He turned on his heel and made his way down the hall back to the stairwell. He knew that he needed to check the money left in his checking account before he made any rash decisions, but he was pretty sure he'd find a way to make it work. So maybe he'd have to be a bit careful with groceries for the next couple of weeks… she was worth it.

As his foot hit the first step, his phone started to ring. He pulled his phone out and looked at the caller ID.

Lindsay.

He quickly answered it, "Hello?!"

"Hey, it's me."

He paused on the stairs for a moment. "Hey… how are you?"

"Ahh, I don't know." She admitted. "Hard day, just wanted to hear a friendly voice."

"I see." He said, turning around from where he'd been going downstairs. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." She admitted. "Spent all evening thinking about it… crazy about that magician case."

Danny smirked at the fact she knew exactly what was going on, despite being across the country. He also noticed she'd been quick to change the subject. "Yeah, it's wild. He's an absolute fruit loop. Mac and I just worked out that he set himself on fire as his latest alibi."

"Nice." She mused. "I suppose it's dedication. Not sure my first plan of action would be to set myself on fire but there we go."

"It's something." He said. "Other than that though, nothing out of the ordinary."

"No serial killers?"

"Other than him? Not this week." He paused for a moment as he hovered near his front door. "Linds, why did you really call? I don't think it was about my week at work."

She sighed.

"Linds?"

"Today was really hard." Her voice was quiet and sad. "I just... I wanted to hear your voice. I needed my friend."

He bit his lip as he made his way back into his apartment. As he shoved his key into the lock she gasped. "Did I catch you at a bad time? Sorry I didn't even think!"

"Wait what? No!" He implored as he dumped his keys on the table: "no no I just got home" he lied, "I can talk: it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

She sighed, a bit happier this time. "It's nice to hear your voice."

"It's nice to hear yours too." He said, "not quite the same over text message is it?"

"Not really." She said.

"So, what happened?"

"Huh?"

"Today; what happened? I know that's why you called. Let's talk it out, you know it always makes you feel better."

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" He scoffed playfully. "Come on Linds, you know it helps."

She sighed. "I fell to pieces, Danny. I cried, asked them to stop. It just got too much. It was all so vivid and it felt like I was back in the restroom all over again. Plus seeing his face again for the first time in so long really hit me hard. I've imagined it for so many years-"

"And to finally see it again was just too much."

"Yeah," she said, sadly. "Plus the faces of Lucy and Kelly's mothers. Seeing their reactions to what I was saying, I just, we never, I never."

"They didn't know what really happened, huh?"

"They never wanted to know." she said with a long sigh. There was a moment of silence before her quiet, little voice sounded again. "I wish you were here."

His mouth opened and closed as her words registered. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. "I could be."

"Just talking to you is enough." She said. Her voice continued on talking about how she planned to be braver tomorrow, how things would be better now she'd spoken to him. She reasoned that she'd gotten over the first hurdle and everything else would be okay now. He made the correct noises in response, formulating a plan in his head.

"I'll let you get off here now." She said. "Thanks for being on the other end of the line. I really needed to hear your voice."

"Anytime Linds." He said softly. "Anytime."

"See you soon." She said softly.

"Yeah, see you soon." Danny said in response. As he heard her end the call he couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips. I'll see you sooner than you think.

—

**Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time! **


	10. Sleight out of Hand 2

**A/N: here's the second part to the sleight out of hand saga! This was an after thought and I found it quite tricky to get it to flow but after a bit of perseverance Fred and I finally got there. Hope you enjoy! **

**—-**

_Set during the latter part of the episode 3x18, Sleight out of hand _

_—-_

Opening her eyes at the sound of her blaring alarm. Lindsay sighed heavily. She thumped the clock and basked in the silence. She hadn't got much sleep last night. No matter what she did, her mind wouldn't shut off. She kept thinking about all the things she should have said, all the things she wanted to say. It was just… seeing his face made it so hard.

She swung her feet over the side of her bed and padded over to the window. She drew the curtains and looked out to the wheatfields.

She'd once joked with Danny about the city skyline beating the wheatfields. She remembered at the time scoffing at his nonsense - she knew for a fact he'd never even laid his eyes on a wheatfield. And whilst a part of her hated to admit it, he was right. Nothing came close to the feeling the New York City skyline gave her. Not even her beloved wheatfields

She took a deep breath before moving away from the window. She grabbed her phone and checked the time. She had enough time for a shower and maybe a coffee but not much else. Security at the courtroom had been increased since she'd last been there. Plus, she wanted to avoid the media as much as she could.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her towel and headed for the bathroom. Hopefully, a shower would clear her thoughts.

—

She glanced up at the sound of a coffee cup making contact with the mahogany table top.

"Earth to Linds."

"Sorry." She smiled, accepting the creamer that was being handed to her. "I uh, was a little lost then."

"Oh yeah?" the voice quizzed. "Where's your head?"

"Trying to get my testimony squared away."

Sitting down next to his daughter, Robert Monroe sighed heavily. "Stop torturing yourself. You don't need to keep reliving it. Tell them what happened and let it lie."

"I need to organise my thoughts."

"No you don't!" He growled at his daughter, "you're not the one on trial Lindsay. You're the one providing a statement. You don't need to prove anything. You saw enough that night, you see enough in the job you've chosen. You don't need to see it going on in your head aswell."

"Leave her alone."

Lindsay and her father both turned and watched as Lindsay's mother made her way into the kitchen. She moved to Lindsay and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head before moving to the coffee pot. "The last thing she needs today is you giving her hell. Let her do what she needs to do."

Lindsay raised the coffee cup to her lips as she watched her dad fight with his inner voice. He dropped the newspaper on the table and silently left the kitchen.

"It's hard for him." Her mother's voice sounded after a moment. "You know how he struggles."

Lindsay nodded.

"Let's go over it together." Her mom said softly. "Run through it with me."

"No, it's okay." Lindsay shook her head. "I…"

"Linds…" she stared pointedly at her daughter. "Talk it out. Where did you leave it yesterday?"

"I uh… I'd told them I was curled up in the corner with my hands over my ears. I think… it's all blurry."

"Okay; let's start there. What happened next?" She said as she sat down at the table

"Well, it was quiet, but I could hear footsteps outside the door. And the faucet was still running.I remember thinking whoever was out there would be able to hear it."

"Okay, good. What else?"

"I'm not sure why or what I was thinking but I went to the door to open it, just enough to see out. I saw a man holding a shotgun, covered in blood."

"Good, keep it factual. Straight to the point this is perfect."

"Is it though?" Lindsay whispered.

"Honey, it's what happened. You have lived this hell every day for god only knows how long. You know as well as I do that whatever you say, whatever comes out of your mouth, will get the result the girls deserve. The result you deserve."

"I hope so."

"Whatever happens, we're proud of you."

"I know." Lindsay whispered. She picked up her coffee and finished it. "I better get going."

"Do you want us to come?"

"No." Lindsay shook her head. "No, I need to do it alone."

"I know." Her mother smiled. "And I knew what your answer would be, I had to ask anyway, just in case."

Lindsay stood from the table and hung her scarf around her neck. "I'll see you later?" She asked, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek.

"You will."

Lindsay moved to the front door. She paused and turned back to look at her mother. "Tell daddy I love him."

"I will."

—

Dumping all of the contents of his pockets into the tray, Danny bounced up and down on his heels as he waited to go through the metal detectors of the courthouse. He grabbed his phone and checked the time, sighing heavily. Things hadn't gone to plan as he had wanted them to, but he was here and that was the main thing.

"Next!"

Taking his chance, he bounded quickly through the metal detectors and grabbed his dog tags, keys and wallet from the checked tray and quickly shoved them back into his pocket.

He took off running through the small hallway and finally found the courtroom he was looking for, right at the end of the building. He stopped still for a moment, preparing himself.

He took a deep breath and that's when he heard it; he could hear her voice through the door. He couldn't quite make out what she was saying exactly but he knew it was her detective voice. He'd heard her on tbs stand hundreds of times. But mixed within the Detective Monroe voice that he knew so well; there was a slither of Lindsay. Scared, worried Lindsay.

Finally deciding he'd waited for long enough, he pushed through the door and cringed at the sound of the squeak and creak that sounded his arrival. He glanced up and cursed himself as he realised he had gained the attention of everyone in the room - including her.

For a moment his eyes locked with hers and based on the look on her face, he knew he'd made the right decision. It was almost like he could see the relief in her eyes. He quickly took a seat in the back and settled in his seat, fixing his eyes on her, willing for her to carry on. He hoped that if her strength was wavering, he'd given her a second wind.

He watched her compose herself before she carried on with what she was saying. He listened to her speak of the aftermath of the shooting. He listened to her retell the agonising moments of waiting in the restroom before she dared to go out. He watched with pride as she identified the monster sat opposite her as the man with blood on him.

He took a deep breath and watched as the light in her eyes glistened ever so slightly. Sure this ordeal had knocked her. Sure it had driven a wedge between them… but for the first time in a long time he realised her burdens were being lifted.

Slowly, her broken pieces were coming together.

—-

The wait had been agonising. They had sat, hands clasped in near silence outside the courtroom as they waited for the jury to deliberate. He'd known they to be waiting for hours and he'd prepared himself for that.

So when they had called them back in for the verdict a mere forty five minutes after closing statements, he could only hope and pray the jury weren't half wits.

He felt her grasp his hand and hold it tight. He gripped to her and just hoped that the next thirty seconds delivered the word he desperately knew she needed to hear.

—-

When he had walked in, she'd genuinely thought she was hallucinating. She hadn't thought he was real. How could he be? How on earth could Danny Messer actually be in Montana?

And yet; here he was. Her pillar of strength, as always.

She let out a sigh as she reached for his hand and gripped it tight. She'd felt a sense of dread fill the pit of her stomach when they had been called back in forty five minutes after sending the jury off. She knew in her heart that it was too soon for them to have made a decision. She couldn't bear the thought of an acquittal.

She felt sick to her stomach as she watched the forewoman stand and address the judge. She could hear the voices but was waiting for a single word. And praying she didn't hear two.

She felt Danny squeeze her hand and felt the comfort he provided her ground her. She focused on the woman's face and waited with baited breath.

She didn't hear the whole sentence. She didn't need to. Guilty of murder in the first degree. The words echoed in her ears as people cheered. Guilty. He was guilty. A jury had found him guilty.

She'd done it. Somehow, by the grace of god or whoever else was out there… she'd somehow managed to give the testimony she'd been preparing for since she was a teenager. .

As realisation hit, she felt the weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders for a decade be lifted in an instant. She laid her head on Danny shoulder and tried to make sense of what had just happened. She was thankful of the moment he'd given her whilst the courtroom cleared out.

Before she even thought about it, he had her on her feet. She felt a new confidence ebbing through her. She pulled him back and just as she was about to kiss him, a flash grabbed her attention. The damn media she'd been avoiding.

She smirked at him, not needing any words to convey what she wanted to tell him. She locked her hands so his, letting him lead the way through the crowd of flashing bulbs, but rather than the angst, turmoil and fear she'd been feeling, she felt confident and brave.

They quickly made their way through the courthouse and managed to avoid the other media outlets. She was glad of his presence because somehow he just knew what to do. He knew where to go… how, she didn't know, but she was glad nonetheless.

Eventually, they got outside and he took her round the corner. Taking her head in his hands, she watched him as he stared at her. It was like they were back in the smoky, stuffy room after she'd gone into the hostage situation during the Fieldcrest jewellers case and he'd found her. She let out a slow breath as a smile tugged at her lips

Finally, his voice broke their prolonged silence. He pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered "You did it."

She tentatively stood up on her tiptoes and closed the distance between them. She placed her hands on either side of his face and pressed her lips to his, locking him in a kiss.

She had a hundred thousand different things she wanted to say to him. She wanted to thank him for his patience, apologise to him for the last couple of months, praise him for his romantic, sweet gesture.

He broke away from her and hooked a finger underneath her chin so she was looking up at him. "I'm so proud of you, Montana." He said softly. "You did good, kiddo. You did them proud."

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight, and she snuggled into him as he squeezed her back. "Thank you." She whispered. "For being you, for being here."

"You don't gotta thank me. I told you I'd be here for you. I wasn't kidding." .

"Yeah but this? Coming to Montana? I never… it means a lot."

"Well, you told me to follow my instincts and I did. My instincts lead me to you."

She couldn't help the smile on her face. It may have been the most goofiest, cheesiest thing he'd ever said, but she'd take it.

As he grabbed her hand again and led her to his rental, she realised that it was finally time to start putting those broken pieces back together.

And she couldn't wait.

—

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! **


	11. Snow Day - Eve

**A/N: hi folks! It feels like it's been a while! Hope everyone is doing well! I am currently off work due to the crazy coronavirus- I may not get to see my gorgeous little kiddos at work for 12 weeks now which is absolutely devastating! What strange times we are living in. **

**However, enough doom and gloom from the real world, as I'm stuck at home attempting to cobble work together for my first graders, I figured I would take a short break and upload this for you all! **

**I have seen a couple new author alerts and lots of love coming into my inbox recently which had been very much appreciated - welcome if you're new here!! **

**Anyway, without anymore rambling, enjoy! **

* * *

_Set the day before 3x24, Snow Day  
_

* * *

Bouncing from the AV lab to trace, she felt a feeling of contentment wash over her. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. Looking around her, she smiled. She hadn't realised how much she missed the lab whilst she was in Montana and being back had really made her appreciate exactly what she had.

She loved her job. She loved where she worked. She loved the city she worked in. She loved the people she worked with. She was back to loving her life and everything in it.

She made her way into trace and saw him and as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face.

_Danny. _

She couldn't quite put into words the way she felt about him. She wasn't sure why but he had really taken it upon himself to be her pillar of strength and support during the last couple of months. He'd been relentless in his unwavering support, unwilling to accept her lame excuses and feeble attempts to push him away and for that she'd be ever grateful.

She made her way over to him and as she settled next to him, she bumped her hip against his, gaining his attention. He looked up at her and smiled brightly. "Hey you."

"Hey." She smiled. "What you working on?" She asked as she snapped some gloves on.

"Ugh, a load of crap." He rolled his eyes, sitting back on his stool. "I'm drivin' myself crazy here."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well I don't even know if this is evidence or trash." He implored. "Found it at my scene but my scene was directly next to a dumpster that had been tipped over so…"

"You don't know if it's come from the dumpster or the scene?"

Danny nodded.

"Good luck with that then." She laughed before moving to her own evidence box and retrieving one of the bags.

"And there was me thinking you'd come to help me."

"Don't be ridiculous." She laughed. "I've got my own stuff to do."

He sighed dramatically before leaning over the workstation again and focusing on a specific area with a considerable amount of trace on it. "So, how does it feel to be back?" He asked her.

"I've been back for weeks/" she said without looking up from her evidence. "Weeks."

"I know but… everything has been such a whirlwind since you came back…"

"I suppose." Lindsay pursed her lips together. "Well, I have to say, it's kinda nice." She shrugged as she reached for a cotton bud to swab at some trace she'd identified on her piece of evidence. "Feels nice to be back to normal again."

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "Makes you appreciate the boring days."

"I'll take a boring day any and everyday of the week." She laughed.

"I know you don't mean that." He looked at her pointedly. "You Montana girls need adventure."

"Nope, you're wrong." She told him. "I'd happily take a boring day if it meant I could stand in trace flirting with you all day."

"Ahh, is that what this is?" Danny smirked. "You flirtin' with me?"

"Maybe." She smirked as she placed her evidence in the GCMS machine and set it off. "So, when we goin' for those drinks you promised me?" She smiled.

She watched as he quickly turned to face her with a goofy, giddy smile plastered all over his face. "Say that again?"

"You heard me." She laughed as she snapped her gloves off. "When are we going out?"

"You wanna go out?" Danny asked. "You askin' me on a date, Montana?"

"Why not," she smiled. "Wanna go on a date with me sometime?"

"More than anything." He nodded.

She smiled. "Good."

"Dinner?" He asked.

She shrugged as she leaned against their workstation. "Maybe drinks and laughs at yours? Get some take out or something?"

"Sounds perfect." He said. "When?"

"Tonight?" She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide her smile.

"Tonight? Sure, I can uh… yeah, I'll move some things round. It's a date!" He declared. "Maybe I can finally show you my pool table."

She snorted as she grabbed a new pair of gloves. She snapped them on and grabbed another cotton bud and swabbed at the trace on the clothes in front of her. "Honestly Danny."

"What?" He smirked at her reaction. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing... it just sounds like a euphemism."

"Montana! We're at work! Behave!"

"Whatever, you know I'm right. Don't even pretend you didn't want me to interpret it in that way... I know you."

Danny smirked before winking playfully at her. "Alright fine, maybe I meant it as one.: but only if you want it to be."

"Danny!" She cried.

"Hey, you started it… not me!"

"We've got work to do." She scolded him. "Smartass."

"Hey! I was workin' just fine before you came in here and started flirtin' with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Whatever me all you want Montana. The words came from your mouth; not mine."

She rolled her eyes again.

"And you can knock that off too!" He bumped her with his hip, much like she had when she first came in. She rolled her eyes again, gaining another playful sigh from him:

They then turned to look at each other before glancing back down, just like they had on her very first day. And just like on her first day, she could feel the sparks flying between them.

"So want me to pick you up later?" He asked, breaking their silence.

"I can make my way over to yours." She said. "You don't need to come get me."

"I don't have to, but I want to. I'm on a later shift, I could swing by and get you on my way home."

"Sounds good." She smiled. "Thanks."

"I gotta go, got to chase this lead up." Danny said as he secured his evidence and snapped his gloves off. "I don't think it's trash after all."

Lindsay laughed. "Alright, enjoy!"

"I'll text you?"

"Perfect." She said. "I'm looking forward to tonight."

"Me too." He winked at her. "See you later."

"You will." She nodded. She turned back to her work and before she could become engrossed again, she felt him brush up against her.

"Can I help you?" She asked as he settled next to her. "I thought you were leaving."

"I am." He smirked at her. "I just… before I go, I wanted to say… I'd take a boring day with you any day of the week, especially if it means that I get my Montana back."

She smiled.

"See you later, Linds."

He left silently and she watched him leave the lab. Her eyes followed him all the way to the elevator. Eventually as he disappeared on, she finally tore her eyes away.

It had taken long enough but she felt like tonight was finally going to be the night where they finally stopped flirting with the idea of _them_.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She quickly got it out and smiled at the sender_. Danny._ She opened the message.

_I hope you're not disappointed with my pool table later. _

Despite her surroundings, she snorted and shook her head. She bit her lip as she thought of a response to send back to him. Before she could, another message filtered through.

_Read into that what you will. _

Lindsay shook her head. _You're gonna get us into trouble one of these days, Messer! _

She sent the message and bit her lip. She pulled up the messaging again and typed out a second message. _Also; just to ease your concerns, I don't think I'll have any trouble working with your pool table…I'm sure the equipment you have is more than sufficient based on what I've already seen…. Read into that as you wish._

She pocketed her phone and smirked as she felt it vibrate against her leg. She pulled it back out and chuckled at his response.

_Okay so we can't message anymore. You are a bad, bad influence, Montana. _

She shook her head, quickly typing out her response: _you started it! _

His response came quickly; _yeah well you finished it. See you later! Try not to get into too much trouble whilst I'm gone! _

She pocketed her phone and made the conscious effort to actually do some work.

As her mind wandered off, she felt excitement spark in the pit of her stomach. Tonight honestly couldn't come quick enough.

* * *

**Nearly at the end of this one now! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts! They would be gratefully appreciated! **

**Until next time! **


	12. Snow Day - Night

**A/N: wow! Thanks so much for the awesome response to last chapter! Glad you guys liked it! Now, as per usual, I hadn't originally planned on writing this (or the chapter after) however, I never really played in season 3 land and couldn't pass up the chance to dip my toes into the perfection that is snow day! **

**Only a short chapter but hope you enjoy it all the same! **

Pouring out a shot, Lindsay couldn't help the giggle that escaped out of her, "You know… when I suggested take out, I'm not sure this is what I had in mind."

"There ain't no pleasing you, is there?" Danny rolled his eyes as he handed her his glass. "It ain't my fault."

"Hmm." She eyed him before handing him his glass back. "I have to wonder if you just want me drunk." She licked her lips.

"What on earth would make you think such a thing." He teased as he raised his glass to meet hers in a cheers.

"Hmm, wild instincts perhaps?" She teased as she connected her glass with his. "Slainte."

They knocked their shots back in unison and Danny watched as Lindsay shook her head as the whiskey burnt its way down her throat.

"Too much for you?" He teased. "Want me to get the cocktails out?"

"You think you're funny?" She stared at him pointedly before rolling her eyes. "When have you ever seen me drink a cocktail, smartass?"

He shrugged with a smirk: "touché."

She scoffed at him before pouring herself another drink. "You better pray it snows tomorrow, Messer, because I'm gonna need a snow day to get over this hangover."

"Sure yeah, I mean it usually snows in _May_, right?"

"I don't know but you better hope so, honey." She smirked as she knocked back another shot.

Their evening hadn't gone quite to the original plan. Danny had ended up getting off shift far later than he had anticipated - to the point where even the city that never slept had decided to turn in for the night. When he'd realised he was going to be far later than he had expected or anticipated, Lindsay had told him it was fine and she'd just make her way round to his place. He hadn't expected such a response but god he'd been thankful for it. He had dreaded calling her to tell her he'd been caught up. The last thing he'd wanted was to cancel.

Luckily he hadn't needed to.

So instead of take out, they'd decided on a "liquid dinner" consisting of every single liquor Danny had in his apartment…. Which was a lot.

"So, you gonna make me a nice, gourmet breakfast tomorrow then?" She teased as she grabbed her pool cue. "Make up for the lack of dinner that I was promised?"

"I can offer you a delightful bowl of cereal."

"Lucky me." She rolled her eyes. "I'll look forward to those culinary skills then."

"Yeah my arrangement of a bowl and spoon are world class."

"I can only imagine."

"So, you want some pointers?" He asked, gesturing towards the pool table.

"Oh honey, you'd help me like that? Aren't you a gentleman?" she drawled in her finest country accent that she often busted out when she was teasing him. He watched as she sauntered past him and leant over the pool table. She assumed her position; broke the set and watched in amusement as three balls all flew off into holes around the pool table. "Perhaps on second thoughts, I think I'll be okay."

Danny licked his lips and nodded slowly. "Let me guess, you're an expert?"

"You'll have to wait and see," she rounded the table and potted a further two balls. "Bet you fifty bucks I win this game."

"Deal." He said, digging in his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out two twenties and a ten and threw them on the side of the table. "You're on."

"Excellent." She smiled as she rounded the table and potted another ball.

"What if I win though?" He asked as he moved up behind her, placing his hands on either side of the pool table. "What do I win?"

She twisted in her position underneath him and looked at him. She licked her lips before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry, it won't come to that."

She then turned and potted a further ball, despite his arms limiting her movements. He chuckled and moved away, heading over to their shot glasses. "So how'd you get so good at pool?"

"Had to fill my college years with something." She shrugged, potting another ball.

"What, sororities weren't hiring?"

"You've worked sorority and frat parties, right?" She implored. "Could you see me there?"

"I don't know, you never cease to surprise me… I could maybe imagine you there. Let me just-" he closed his eyes, "ahh yeah, I can totally see you there!" He opened his eyes and smirked at her.

"Perv." She laughed, smacking him on the arm. "And anyway, I don't think sororities… hire?"

Danny shrugged. "Well, I don't think I can bet against you anymore Montana."

"Probably for the best." She teased as she potted the black ball. "Looks like I'm 50 bucks richer."

"Guess so." He sighed. "Think I'll get the chance to win it back?"

"Maybe:" she licked her lips. "I'll think about it." She said as she pocketed the bills into her back pocket.

He handed her a shot glass and he held his glass up. "Salut!" She tapped her glass against his and threw the shot back.

"You know, I used to play pool in college too occasionally."

"That right?" She smirked.

"Yeah." He smiled proudly. "Here watch." He said, holding his cue, he spun it around before catching it again. "Took me months to perfect that:"

She burst into laughter and doubled over in giggles as she watched him again. "You are the biggest goof."

"Yeah but you like it."

She pursed her lips together and reached for the bottle of whiskey. She thought about what he'd said for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

Their eyes locked for a moment and the spark between them was undeniable. A smile tugged at her lips and he winked at her.

"Come on, rack 'em up Montana, I gotta win that fifty bucks back."

* * *

He watched as she potted the second to last ball again. He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, throwing the money in her direction. "Alright, alright… Double or nothing." He teased. "Come on, Montana - cut me some slack."

"I'm sorry buddy, a bet is a bet. Not my fault you suck." She smirked as she pocketed the further fifty bucks she'd just won from him. "You know, if we make this a regular thing, I could drop a shift at work at this rate. How do your Thursdays look? Think we could make this a regular thing?"

"Cute." He rolled his eyes. "Real cute." She rounded the table and lined up her shot. "There ain't no way you're gonna make this shot too, Montana." He implored.

She turned to look at him. _Double or nothing? She'd take those odds._ "A benjamin says I do."

She took a shot of her drink before lining the shot up. She watched with a smirk as it went in. Effortless. She turned to him with a glint in her eyes. "You owe me a hundred dollars."

"You know what, you're gonna have to wait till pay day."

She licked her lips and shook her head softly. She wasn't sure if it was the liquid courage but she felt the switch in her flip. She was done with waiting; she was done with flirting. "No. You either pay me now, or… you come up with something better."

The look in his eyes told her he had just the thing….

* * *

**A/N: There we go! As I said before, couple more chapters left here of this before it all gets wrapped up! Hope you enjoyed this one and it provided a short distraction to life as we currently know it****! **

**On a serious note - Keep well, wash your hands stay home if you can! **

**Until next time! **


	13. Snow Day - morning

**A/N: hey folks! Thanks so much again for the love about the last chapter! It was a real highlight of my week to get so many kind words sent this way! It's been a hell of a long time since the days of season 3! So for people to still care and want to play in DL land with me, it's honestly so very lovely! So thanks very much! **

**Okay, disclaimer! Hadn't originally planned on writing this, or the chapter after this but apparently I wasn't finished with this little story! Surprised? No, neither am I. I'm happy with the outcome though! Hope you enjoy it too!**

* * *

Narrowing his eyes in the darkness of his apartment, Danny grabbed the pillows and blankets from his couch. He padded back to the table and gently lifted her head up, allowing him to slide a pillow under her head successfully. He tossed the other one on the table and then aired out the blanket, laying it on top of her. He then rounded the side of the pool table and steadily climbed back on. As he did, he felt her stir next to him.

"No no, go back to sleep: I didn't mean to wake you up. The AC kicked on and you started shivering so I figured I'd get us some stuff to make things more comfy." He explained.

"Don't you gotta a bed?"

"Since when did you turn into a New Yorker?" He teased.

"Shut up," she laughed, "answer the question... a bed? yes or no?"

"I do. Why, you wanna move?" He asked as he settled down next to her again. She instantly crawled towards his chest and settled her head there. "huh? Linds? Do ya wanna move?"

"No, this is… this is good."

"You sure?"

"Mhmm;" she mumbled against his chest. "It's perfect."

He waited a moment and soon he heard her breathing even out again. He licked his lips and smiled to himself as he trailed his fingers up and down her arm.

As his eyes closed again, he couldn't help but agree with her choice of words. Perfect… perfect was definitely the best way he could describe their current situation.

Absolutely perfect.

* * *

He could feel himself stirring and whilst he didn't appreciate the brass band playing in his head and the dead weight on his arm, he felt happy.

He peeled one eye open and smiled as he looked at the mess of curls sprawled over his chest. _That would explain the dead arm,_ he mused to was already eight fifteen. He let out a long laboured sigh. He was gonna have to seriously move his ass it he was going make it to her shift for nine. Plus; he wanted to save both himself and Lindsay a straight up bitching from Mac.

He had debated waking her up like he'd told her he would a couple of hours previous. He really had… but she looked so peaceful he almost couldn't bear the thought of being the one to drag her from slumber. Instead, he carefully extracted his arm, tossed his legs over the side of the pool table and went off in search of clothes. He figured he could always shower later on in his shift if he got lucky… first though, he had a couple of things to take care of.

* * *

He stood back and admired the message. He pursed his lips as he read the message quietly to himself.

_Montana, don't freak out, although I'm sure you already have. We're trading shifts, I got you covered. _

He stood back. It wasn't finished; there was something missing. He placed the chalk down for a minute and looked at the white residue on his fingers. He rubbed his fingers together and watched it flutter to the eyes widened. That was it.

He picked the chalk back up and smirked as he etched the words onto the chalk board.

_Enjoy your snow day. _

_D._

He stood back and smiled.

Perfect.

* * *

She popped the spoon back into the bowl and let out a mighty yawn. She wasn't usually a big cereal fan, however, she couldn't deny the sweet gesture Danny had left for her. She sipped the water she'd helped herself to and massaged her temples, praying that her headache shifted before she got to work. Granted she hadn't done it often, but working with a hangover was a horrendous idea.

She chewed her lip as she reached for her iPhone and refreshed her work email. It had taken her a good while to get on the smartphone bandwagon - she'd been very fond of her flip phone; however she did appreciate her emails being so accessible to her.

She watched as her unread email number went from zero to fifty six. She groaned as they all flew into the mailbox. She put her head on the counter and let out a long, lengthy sigh. She wished she could be more like Danny when it came to emails. He had thousands in his mailbox. Thousands. And he didn't care about it one bit. But here she was, mentally breaking down at the thought of sorting through just shy of sixty of them.

She scrolled down and started from the oldest. Thankfully, lots were courtesy emails from lab techs… that enabled her to get rid of about twenty five.

She glanced up and spotted the pot of coffee she'd been waiting on. She jumped up and helped herself to a healthy cup before taking her seat at the breakfast bar again. Caffeine would most certainly help her work her way through these.

She stretched her back for a moment and shuddered as she felt the crack that relieved the tension in her back spread through her stiff bones and muscles.

If she was completely honest, she was still slightly shell shocked at where she'd woken up, how she'd woken up and who she'd woken up with... not that she was mad about it.

So much had happened this year that she had genuinely thought at many points that she and Danny would never be able to get back to where they had once been. What they once were. And there was a degree of truth to that. They'd never be able to be the carefree, flirty pair they'd been when she'd started at the lab. But part of that was because she'd let him in and allowed him to see all her demons and darkness she'd been carrying on her shoulders. Granted, it hadn't necessarily been by choice… but in reflection, knowing what she knew now, letting him in had been the very best thing she could have done. He made everything easier to handle. He helped her more than she had ever thought he could.

He'd been an utter pain in the ass. He'd been overbearing and constantly overstepped boundaries… but he'd somehow known she'd needed him every single time. How he did it, she just didn't know, nor could she work out. Somehow he just knew when to follow her.

She placed her half empty coffee cup down on the counter and decided to carry on sorting through her emails. She didn't have much time before she needed to head back to her place to get changed but she just wanted a bit more time to absorb her surroundings… marvel a little bit at the fact that somehow, she'd ended up with something she'd never, ever expected.

Never would she have thought that she and Danny would end up where they were. She could feel her heart teetering on the edge of something she felt could be quite amazing.

And for the first time, she was totally okay with it.

But for now? She had to get through her snow day shift with a mammoth headache and a pain in the ass hangover. And as daunting as that task seemed, it meant she could see him again. Maybe flirt a little in the AV lab. Get lunch together if their schedules allowed for it.

Sure she had a headache and a hangover, but she could just tell today was going to be a good day.

* * *

**Okay so maybe it won't be a great day for her... hope you guys enjoyed this update! Thanks for reading! **


	14. Snow Day - aftermath 1

**A/N: hey everyone - firstly, I hope you are doing really well. Things are good here, all things considered. **

**May come as no surprise but shock horror, had no intentions of this ever surfacing. It was originally a little stand alone story I wrote months ago - it was one of the ideas that sparked writing... well, this story I guess! I've added bits and taken bits away and I'm so glad I did as i feel it is something we definitely missed on the show! Hope that's okay! **

**Anyway: enough rambling! Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

_Set after the episode, 3x24 Snow Day, finishes. _

* * *

Contrary to her earlier thoughts, today had not been a good day.

At all.

Glancing around the emergency room, she felt totally and completely out of place. She felt bad for staying but she couldn't bear the thought of leaving Danny.

"_You weren't supposed to be here. You took my shift." _Her words from earlier still swirled around in her head. He hadn't really had the chance to respond to her as EMS has swooped him up and loaded him into the bus. She'd followed in the avalanche, beating herself up the entire time. She couldn't quite understand how the day had changed so drastically. Hadn't they been through enough? Hadn't they had their fair share of utter crap?

Well? Apparently not.

She wasn't entirely sure how she managed to get from the scene to the hospital. She couldn't recall stopping at any red lights, stop signs or… well, anything. She just prayed automatic pilot had taken over and there wasn't a warrant out for her arrest for dangerous driving.

She hadn't seen him or heard anything about him for over two hours now. She knew he hadn't been that hurt… but what if there was something internal? What if he'd been hiding something from her?

She stood from her desperately comfortable chair and moved towards the desk. She cleared her throat and searched for something to say. "Hi, uh… I uh… I'm Detective Monroe. I came in with my…." Her mind went blank. _Oh god,_ her internal voice screamed. _Why the hell are you so unprepared? Could you not have thought of something before opening your mouth, Lindsay? What the hell do I say? What is he? Colleague? Person I slept with last night? Boyfriend? _

"Detective? Can I help with anything?"

"Sorry, I…" she ran her fingers through her hair. "I... my uh, my partner was brought in a couple of hours ago. I was just wondering if I could get an update. His name is Danny Messer. He was one of the hostages from the crime scene in Brooklyn earlier today.."

"Sure." The nurse said, handing over a clipboard. "Fill this out first and we'll get back to you."

She glanced down at the clipboard and absorbed some of the details. "Oh wait, no… sorry I… I'm not that type of partner. I'm not his next of kin. He's my partner at work."

The nurse cocked her head to the side as she flicked through his patient file. "Detective Monroe? Right?"

Lindsay nodded.

"_Lindsay_... Monroe?"

Lindsay blinked, had she told the nurse her name? "Yeah…?"

"Detective Messer has listed you as his emergency contact." The nurse explained. "We've been pretty back logged today. Sorry, honey. Fill this out and we can arrange for you to go and check on him." The nurse smiled. "I can tell you're worried about your partner, but don't worry, it won't be too much longer. He's out of assessment now."

Lindsay nodded wordlessly and went back to her recently vacated seat. She sat down for a minute and let the words swirling in her head settle for a moment. He'd listed her as his emergency contact? How? When? Why? She swallowed the lump in her throat as she crossed her legs and set the clipboard on her lap. Emergency contact. Surely that should be his mom and dad?! She thought to herself. Although… she had to wonder. Who would she put down for her emergency contact now? When she got bit by a snake a couple of months ago, she'd put Mac. Afterwards she'd felt a little silly, but with her mom and dad being so far away it just seemed pointless. She knew Mac would be there for her if she needed him and he'd been the first person to come to mind. Now though? She wasn't so sure.

She glanced down at the paperwork and began filling it out. She tackled the generic stuff quickly. Name, date of birth, address, relationship status. She scanned the next part. Allergies. _Oh god, what was he allergic to? _She knew there was something. What was it?! She knew it was something really obscure but she couldn't remember for the life in her what it was now. She sighed and closed her eyes, what the hell was it?! She opened her eyes and shook her head. Leave it. Move on.

Blood type. She knew that, he had normal run of the mill nothing special blood. They'd at least told each other that…

Medical history. _Did beatings count? She knew about all those!_ She sighed as she thought back. Okay, he'd had some surgery on his hand after his baseball fight. Was that it? She racked her brains… nothing was coming to mind. She figured if he'd never mentioned anything, it couldn't have been that serious.

She put her pen down and ran her fingers through her hair: why the hell had he chosen her?!

She left it and figured she'd move on. Insurance details. She ran her hand down her face. She knew this, she did. She licked her lips and felt the eureka moment as it hit her. She scribbled down his provider and made a mental note to mention she didn't know precise details but could get them.

She looked again at allergies, desperately searching for the memory stored away. She'd thrown something at him and he'd freaked out over it. But what was it? They'd been in the avalanche. He'd been complaining of being hungry… and she'd thrown it at him. She tapped the pen against the clipboard as she tried to replay the memory. She licked her lips and glanced up for a moment: as she did, an orderly walked part with a trolley - containing fruit and a selection of muffins.

"Oh my gosh, blueberries!" She implored to herself before writing it down. She'd thrown a blueberry muffin at him and he'd freaked out about it, saying he was allergic and was she trying to kill him. He'd also joked about loving them in a previous life which she hadn't really understood - but then again, sometimes he thought he was much funnier than he actually was.

Proud of herself, she made her way back to he nurses station and handed her the clipboard.

"I've done most of what I could from memory." She explained. "There's a couple of things missing like his insurance details but I can get them for you from him."

"Damn honey," the nurse commented as she flicked through information Lindsay had provided: "considering you're his colleague you know a hell of a lot about him:" she placed the clipboard down and smiled. "Can see why he'd list you as his emergency contact:.. you're an oracle of knowledge when it comes to him. I get wives and husbands that know less."

"I suppose I know him better than I thought I did."

"Apparently so." She smiled. "Listen, you go ahead and make your way through... he's in room 509."

Lindsay smiled. "Thanks." She quickly made her way through a set of double doors and began searching room numbers.

"Can I help you?"

Lindsay turned and smiled at the nurse. "Yeah I'm looking for room 509. Danny Messer."

"Please tell me you're Lindsay Monroe?"

"Uhh, I am?" She was becoming slightly unnerved by the volume of people who apparently knew her name.

"Thank goodnes, Detective Messer has been very insistent on seeing you. We might get a break now: 509 is just down the hall, on your right:"

"Thanks," Lindsay smiled with a slight blush sweeping her cheeks. She walked past another four rooms before she finally settled outside 509. She took a deep breath and prepared herself before turning the handle and made her way inside.

She stepped inside and took a deep breath. He turned his head slightly.

"Hey Montana."

"Say that again," she whispered.

With his goofy grin, he smiled. "Hey Montana."

She finally let out the breath she'd been holding and let the door shut behind her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **


	15. Snow Day - Finale

**A/N: And somehow we have found ourselves at the final chapter! It doesn't happen often here in Laurzzland but i always get a super exciting and accomplished feeling when I actually post the final chapter. **

**It seriously means a lot to me how much kindness and love you have all sent my way for this story: especially considering it's been a hundred million years since NY was on the air. Suppose it shows just how much we all really loved/ still love Danny and Lindsay! **

**Now, I don't think I've ever done this before however I need your opinion! I'm working on two different stories at the moment - one set post season 9 with all the messer children Fred has created and one set after this ends and i suppose into season 4. My question is, do you have a preference as to which I post first? Neither is finished however, I find focusing on one story really helps! So if you feel inclined to share your thoughts about which you'd prefer I'd really appreciate it! **

**Anyway; enough rambles. Last chapter! Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

_Set after the episode 3x24, Snow Day_

* * *

Her head hurt, partially from her hangover, partially from the stress of the day and partially fo reasons she didn't dare think about. She was tired, aching and sore. Granted some of that was down to having sex on the top of a pool table the night before, but now wasn't the time or place to get lost in _those_ thoughts.

When Sid and Peyton had quizzed her about why she wasn't in Brooklyn at the crime scene, she'd panicked. She hadn't heard any of their words - all she had heard was Danny, hostage situation and bad... and that had been enough to send her into a spiralling abyss of panic.

_In fact, if she thought about it, she was pretty sure her heart rate still hadn't returned back to its normal rate. _

"Lindsay…"

Rolling her eyes, Lindsay Monroe shifted in the new but still as unequally uncomfortable chair that she sat in - she wasn't ready to be pulled from her thoughts just yet. She crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest. "No!"

"Stop it, knock it off, okay?"

She huffed.

"Montana! How many times do we gotta go over this?"

"But Danny… you're not listening!" She gestured wildly with her arms..

"Oh I'm listening just fine." Danny smirked as he shifted in the hospital bed. "You're just choosing not to hear what I'm sayin'."

"I'm choosing not to hear what you're saying because what you're saying is a load of crap. You shouldn't have been there and I'm mad at you." She crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Mad at me?" He laughed. "_You're_ mad at _me_?"

"Yes I'm mad at you!" She growled. "You said you'd wake me up! You told me to go back to sleep and promised you'd wake me up."

"Hey.. I never promised that. I said I would but I didn't promise. I just didn't wanna wake ya up, you looked too happy, too comfortable." He shrugged. "So I didn't. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" She implored. "No big deal?! Danny, you've got a set of broken ribs, three dislocated fingers and god only knows what else!"

"And a cracked tooth." He added with a smirk.

"Don't." She scowled at him with fire in her eyes. "Don't even go there."

"Oh come on Montana, lighten up."

"Lighten up? Lighten up! Danny look at the state of you!"

"Gee, thanks."

"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes. "I just… you took my shift! You shouldn't have done that." "

"Oh Montana, give it a rest alright? So I took your shift. Big deal. Do you honestly think that you bein' a hostage would have been a better situation?"

"Honestly?" She shrugged. "I do, yeah. And anyway, you promised."

"Lindsay, I already told you, I didn't promise you anything."

"You did!" She implored. "No more hostage situations, you promised me."

He opened his mouth to protest and then promptly closed it again. _Okay, maybe he had promised that after he'd arrested Shane Casey… _

"Alright, hostage situations we're _aware_ of. If I stumble into one, that's slightly different." He clarified. "And anyway, surely you see how this was a better situation. Could you imagine if you'd have been in there? Cause I sure as hell don't want to!"

"I'd rather me be there than you! You could have… they could have…"

"Yeah maybe they could have." He nodded, knowing that she meant he could have been killed "but they didn't. And anyway. Which scenario would have been better.. this? Or you being in there so not only would they have beaten you up… I'd have got myself killed. Definitely a better scenario."

"Who said anything about you getting killed if I'd have been in there?!" She laughed. "You're so dramatic."

"Well, you can't honestly expect me to stand on the sideline whilst someone is hurtin' you. You don't honestly believe that I'd just stand there and wait for it to go down. I'd be goin' in guns blazin'... hence gettin' myself killed."

She rolled her eyes as she sat back in the chair and let out a long breath. "What a damn day."

"Tell me about it."

They fell silent, both losing themselves in their own thoughts.

What a damn day was a complete and utter understatement. How it had started and how it ended were two entirely different entities. Not for a single moment when he woke up with her sprawled across his chest did he think he'd end the day in a hospital bed.

Despite the pain, he had a blissful feeling ebbing through him. Partially because he was glad he'd unknowingly saved her from being held hostage. But more so the fact that they'd finally stopped flirting around the issue of them.

The last couple of months had really taken its toll on them. He knew he'd had enough of their will they, won't they dance and she was totally over it too. He'd told her a hundred times that he'd understood why she pushed him away… but he was now glad it was all over. Done.

When she had asked him on a date last night at work; he thought he'd misheard her… but really, it hadn't necessarily surprised him. Why would it? Nothing surprised him with Lindsay anymore. She was so unique and special that hed learnt a long time ago to never assume anything because she'd always prove him wrong. In a good way granted, but still.

Either way, he was quite happy with his war wounds. One, because it meant she didn't have to physically suffer and two, it had meant he had protected her from god only knew what. Plus, he'd only just damn well got her and he wasn't about to lose her again.

"Nothing is ever easy, is it?" Her voice was sad.

"Hey," he said, his voice soft, realising that the place she had gone to in her thoughts wasn't quite as happy as his. "What's the matter?"

He gazed at her from the bed and he noticed how she was avoiding his eyes.

"Montana?" He pressed. "Come on, what's the matter?"

"Us. _This_." She whispered with unshed tears in her eyes, "You and me. Nothing is ever easy. I finally, _finally_ get you and look at the state of you!"

He smiled as he reached out to her. She stood and took his unbandaged hand and moved towards him. He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Come here." He said.

He could see on her face that initially she wanted to protest his invitation, but after a moment or two of considering the offer, she was tentatively climbing on the bed next to him. He shifted in his position, making more space for her and flinched as he felt his ribs deny the movement.

She paused in her movements for a moment; watching him like a hawk. Eventually he settled and held his arms open and let her settle in them. She laid her head on his chest and cuddled up against him. It was hardly conventional, but he knew she needed it.

"Are you listening to me?" He whispered against her hair.

She nodded against his chest.

"I would take a hundred more beatings if that meant I kept you safe, okay? I know it sucks. I know this was scary. I know you feel guilty, but you need to accept what happened. I'm glad this happened how it did, okay? I'm glad it was me and not you, because you know what? When they were smashing my fingers up, do you know what gave me comfort?"

She shook her head as she stared up at him.

"I knew you were safe. I knew you were safe in my apartment, blissfully still asleep, okay? My knuckles and ribs will heal, alright? It's my official job now to look after you and protect you and it's somethin' I take dead seriously, alright? So I'm sorry but you gotta get used to me doin' stupid shit like this."

She craned her neck up towards her and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm sorry."

"Montana, listen to me… please stop saying sorry. I genuinely don't want you to feel guilty about this. I don't. Okay? I would do it again right now without a moment's thought."

"I know you would."

"Okay, so let's accept what this is here, okay?"

"And what is this?" Lindsay asked.

"Whatever we want it to be". He told her. "Whether that's you and me just enjoying each other's company casually or whether we decide we want something more official." He said softly. "I know what i want, but-"

"I know what I want too." Lindsay said. "I want you, I want us. I don't care about titles but I want you to myself."

"Good, because that's what I want too." Danny smiled. "So can we calm down about today now? Can we appreciate that everything's gonna be alright and the world isn't going to end and you're just being a dramatic goofball again."

She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "And you were doing so well in talking me down off the ledge."

He hooked his finger underneath her chin and directed her eyes to look at him. He placed a light kiss to her lips. She quickly shuffled closer to him and sealed her lips to his in response but before it could go any further, they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. They pulled away from each other and at the sight of Stella in the doorway, Lindsay snapped up.

"I… I…." Lindsay glanced around her, hoping a viable explanation as to why she had been laid in Danny's hospital bed, wrapped in Danny's arms and kissing him. Nothing seemed to suffice though.

"Well it's about time." Stella said as she moved her way into the room and plonked herself in Lindsay's recently vacated chair. "However, Lindsay when I told you to keep your eye on him and stay with him… I'm not sure I meant for you to keep such a close eye. I should have known how thorough you would be though."

"How long you in town for Stel… 'cause that's real funny." Danny barked. "This a social call or are you here to bust our asses as normal?"

"Normally i'd be busting your asses." Stella laughed as she stood and moved round to the other side of the bed. She dropped a kiss to his cheek. "But I'm just checking in to make sure you're okay… however it seems Lindsay's got all of that covered."

Lindsay's cheeks quickly changed from a blush pink to a deep shade of crimson.

"I am going to need to know more about this," she gestured to their positions, "at some point."

"Well, don't hold your breath." Danny smirked. "How's everyone?" "

"Everyone is fine." Stella reassured him. "The lab? Not so much."

"Oh no!" Lindsay gasped. "What happened?"

"Mac blew it up. Oh and he's going to London with Peyton."

"This is an awful lot of information in such a short sentence:" Danny pinched the bridge of his nose."So is going to London a result of blowing up the lab?"

"My understanding is that may have been a plan beforehand, however, who knows."

"How's Adam?" Danny asked. "I didn't get to see him before this one shoved me into an ambulance." Danny teased as he gestured towards Lindsay.

"Adam is getting treatment for his burns. Which reminds me… I also wanted to come to let you know how proud I am of you Danny: you did some incredibly quick thinking. Having Adam get the marquis agent and sacrificing yourself allowing him to do so without them knowing… You're a brave man. Stupid. But brave."

Danny smiled. "Did what I had to. No big deal."

"Hang on.. wait wait wait..." Lindsay implored as she twisted in her position. She turned her head and scowled at him. "I'm sorry… You did what?"

"Oh Jesus," he sighed. "Stella, I'd only just calmed her down."

Smirking, Stella shrugged before squeezing Danny's arm. "Well, it looks like Lindsay's got everything covered here. I better get going. I'll be in touch. Lindsay, take the rest of the day."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Positive, the lab is a mess. Nothing we can do until we've got things cleaned up. Plus, I think your skills are better suited to this situation."

With that, Stella left, leaving them both in stunned silence.

* * *

Hours had passed since the hostage situation and Danny was overjoyed to be stood outside his apartment. He watched as Lindsay shoved his key into the lock and let them both in.

She shoved their bags onto the floor and switched the light on as they made their way into the otherwise darkened apartment.

"Home again." She said brightly.

"Music to my ears." He sighed as he kicked his shoes off and made his way over to the couch. He dropped himself down, flinching as he did so. After shifting on the couch he let out a long sigh. "What a long day."

Lindsay nodded. She sighed before licking her lips. "Can I do anything before I go?"

"Before you go?" Danny asked, standing up quickly "You're going?"

"Well I just… I figured…"

"But I thought you were gonna play nurse for me."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Funny."

"I'd really like it if you stayed, Linds." He said softly, taking her hand, "please?"

She bit her lip and let out a sigh before nodding, "Alright.: Okay. Fine."

"Perfect." He smiled."I'm starving. Wanna get some takeout?"

"Sure." She nodded as she flung her jacket over the side of his pool table. The mess from the night before was still littered around the apartment. She glanced around and even though she'd seen it before (and had slept in it a couple of times too), she smirked and turned to look at him. "Ahhh, so you _do_ have a bed? Interesting."

"Smartass." He laughed. "What do you want to eat?"

She shrugged. "I'm good with whatever."

He nodded as he made his way into the kitchen. Lindsay made a point of flicking some lights on to fill the dull apartment with some more light.

She then made her way to the pool table and began cleaning up their mess from the night before. She grabbed their shot glasses and the empty whiskey bottle before making her way into the kitchen.

"Hey!" He implored when he realised what she was doing: "leave all that; I'll do it."

"Oh yeah? How?" She teased, gesturing to his bandaged hand. "It's fine, I've got it."

"Linds, leave it." He instructed. "I'll do it."

Ignoring him, she turned on her heel and headed back out to the pool table.

"You're stubborn. Do you know that?!" He called out to her. "A real pain in the ass."

"Are you ordering food or just hurling abuse at me?" She teased as she added the now empty bottle of tequila, salt shaker and plate of limes to the kitchen counter.

"Did you do the dishes before you left this morning?" He chuckled.

"Habit." She shrugged as she tossed the limes in the trash. "Danny… food!"

"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes. "Pizza?" He asked.

"Pizza sounds great." She nodded.

* * *

Tossing her napkin into the empty pizza box she let out an uncomfortable groan. "Ugh, I ate too much."

He smirked as he followed her lead and tossed his napkin in the box. "You can sure pack those slices away like a champ." He teased.

"Yeah, well never know when I'm getting my next meal with you."

"I said I was sorry about dinner last night. Anyway... I made you breakfast, what more do you want?"

"Fine." She teased, sticking her tongue out. "However, whilst we're on the subject, I'm not sure the word _made_ accurately describes laying out a bowl, spoon and a box of cereal, but I'm willing to let that go for today."

"Real kind of ya." He smirked."I'll make sure to leave out my Messer pancakes next time."

"Perfect." She smiled.

They fell into silence for a moment. She watched his face as it fell as he settled into his thoughts. She nudged him, breaking his thoughts. "Hey, I was only joking about breakfast. I thought it was cute. Are... are you okay?"

"Oh no, no, it's not that:" he shook his head. "It just wasn't quite the snow day l'd had planned for ya. I don't know... today wasn't really what we had imagined, huh?"

"You can say that again." She laughed. "Certainly not." She paused for a moment. "Listen, I uh, it means a lot to me that you took my shift today. I know I was pissed at you earlier but it was only because seeing you like that scared me."

"I know," he said stroking the fingers of his good hand down her arm. "I get it."

"I know but i wasn't being fair to you and I feel bad about it." She said. "Sure I'd have been fine in the same situation but I'd have been a hell of a lot less ballsy than you." She admitted. "Plus… well, you never know what people like that are capable of. I.. I guess I'm trying to say thanks for, you know, protecting me from whatever that fate would have been."

"It's nothing." He shrugged:

"Maybe to you." She said. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded "I'm alright. Just… been a long, crazy day, plus I'm pretty sure the painkillers are wearing off now." He said. "Thanks got waiting with me at the hospital."

"Oh gosh, of course!" She implored. "About that actually...I didn't know how to say it earlier but I wanted to tell you that it means a lot that you put me down as your emergency contact." She said softly. "I… it just means a lot."

"Well, you are." He said. "I can't think of anyone else that is as close to me as you are... I can't think of anyone else I'd call in an emergency."

She glanced down and smiled.

"Hey, what's that smile for?" He nudged her.

"Nothing." She smiled as she settled next to him. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Just happy to be here… back in New York. I'm happy things are normal again. I'm happy to be home."

"Home, huh?" He mused. "That right?"

She nodded against him.

She felt her heart flutter in her chest and she couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face. It had taken a while, but all of those broken pieces had somehow fused themselves back into place.

Somehow; Danny had put all of her pieces back together and as a result, she definitely, most certainly, absolutely wasn't broken anymore.

"Hey," he whispered, hooking his finger underneath her chin so that she was looking at him. "Where's your head?"

"Nowhere special." She smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah?" He nudged her. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah actually," she smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder. "I've honestly never been better."

* * *

**Aww yay! Hope it was the ending you were hoping for! Really enjoyed this one so hope you did to. Thanks for reading! Until next time - stay safe! Lots of love! **  



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